Artemis Fowl and the Wrath of the Fallen
by Kioshima
Summary: Sequel to Artemis Fowl and the Winter of Decay. In the aftermath of Amber's defeat, Holly is still trying to pick up the pieces. But before she can recover, there is a new threat to the People. An old enemy is bent on unleashing an ancient evil that will ravage the entire fairy world. A/H. Rated "T" for violence/darker themes. More info inside.
1. Dehumanized

**A/N:** This is the sequel to my first ever fic, Artemis Fowl and the Winter of Decay, and picks up the action a little under a month after the events of Winter of Decay. If you haven't already, I would highly recommend reading it before this, as you might be a bit confused otherwise. This continues in the same vein as Winter of Decay, taking inspiration from TLG and acting as an alternative conclusion to the Artemis Fowl storyline. As with Winter of Decay, it will be a full length adventure and a significantly darker one than in canon. Oh, and there'll also be proper A/H this time.

As is stands, this story barely resembles what I originally had in mind at the end of Winter of Decay. This was initially going to called "Artemis Fowl and the Two Swords" and have a completely different plot, but I wasn't happy with the story I ended up planning and decided to completely change it, bringing in ideas I had for a future fic and merging them with this one. Not that this really matters to you as a reader, I just felt like letting people know. Either way, I hope you enjoy it :P

-Kio

 **Disclaimer:** Shockingly, I haven't acquired the rights to Artemis Fowl since writing Winter of Decay. Hence this being on a fanfiction website.

* * *

 _ **Prologue;**_

 _ **New Dawn Correctional Facility, Russia, Eleven Years Ago**_

 _"Explain."_

 _Opal's voice was cold. She did not like being told about problems. She shot a sideways glance at the elf who had summoned her, noting with satisfaction the fear on his face. He was right to be afraid, of course. Opal Koboi had a reputation for punishing the bearers of bad news. Violently._

 _He wiped sweaty palms on his white coat before responding, doing his best to keep his voice steady._

 _"Miss Koboi," he began. "The test subject has been successfully enhanced and conditioned."_

 _Opal looked down at the unconscious human girl strapped to the operating table before her, her eyes lingering on the mess of needle marks on her arm. She was a child, barely fifteen. Opal brushed a lock of lank hair out of the girl's eyes, revealing more of the scars that decorated her face. She might have been pretty, she supposed, if the sallow skin and hollow cheeks of starvation hadn't already started setting in._

 _"If the modifications are complete, what is the problem?"_

 _The scientist hesitated. "Her responses to our instructions have been… inconsistent. Sporadic. She won't always obey."_

 _Opal narrowed her eyes. "I thought you said she had been conditioned?" she asked accusingly, gesturing at the girl's scars._

 _The elf flinched. "Yes, Miss Koboi."_

 _"Then why won't she obey me?"_

 _"We're not entirely sure," the scientist admitted, wilting under Opal's hostile gaze. "The subject has unusually strong willpower. She is… resilient. Our other test subjects have been far more co-operative."_

 _Opal was already losing interest. "Disloyal servants are of no use to me."_

 _She made to leave, but the girl was stirring, her eyes flicking open. Opal saw the fear in them immediately. She saw how the pain haunted the girl's mind. But there was something else, hiding deep in those hazel eyes. An iron determination that Opal found a little unsettling._

 _"Take her back to her cell," she instructed, a sadistic smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Let her starve."_

* * *

 **Chapter 1; Dehumanized**

 **Haven City, The Lower Elements, Present Day**

Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police was already exhausted by the time she arrived at Police Plaza. Come to think of it, she was always exhausted these days. Ever since Artemis's death, almost a month ago, sleep had proved elusive. What little rest she could get was always fraught with nightmares. But she endured, because enduring was what she did. Giving up wasn't in her nature.

There was already an angry crowd of civilians amassed outside the LEP headquarters. Holly switched her visor to reflect and began roughly shouldering past them, ignoring the various shouts and demands. She shook her head. Police Plaza was in an almost perpetual state of siege by the general public. It felt like every single fairy in Haven had a problem with the LEP these days.

No sooner had Holly crossed the threshold and raised her visor than she was flagged down a keen-looking junior officer. Holly took an immediate dislike to him. It was far too early in the morning to be so chipper.

"What?" she demanded, not bothering to hide her ill-temper. Not that he seemed to notice.

"Captain Short," he said, his head bobbing excitedly as he spoke. "You're needed in the Situations booth at once. Apparently there is an urgent situation."

Holly groaned. It seemed like there was an _urgent_ situation every other day. She wondered what it was this time.

Technically, Holly was attached to the Recon division of the LEP, which meant that she worked on the surface to track down rogue fairies and gather information before Retrieval or Assault operations. But with the precarious situation in Haven, every officer was expected to do their share of domestic missions. When it came down to it, it didn't matter if you Recon or Traffic, you were still LEP. And it was the LEP's responsibility to keep the fairy capital from descending into chaos.

The unrest in Haven had been steadily building up since Amber, a maniacal centaur, had attempted to orchestrate a devastating war between humanity and the fairy People by making both sides believe that they were under attack. Artemis had sacrificed his own life to stop her from completing her plan, but she had still succeeded in leaving hundreds of dead fairies at the feet of humans. A tragedy, certainly, but preferable to an interspecies war that would likely have claimed billions of lives, human and fairy.

The problem was that Amber herself had been killed in the process, and the LEP's credibility had died with her. Every fairy knew that the massacre at Tara had been perpetrated by humans, and though the LEP insisted that it had been orchestrated by a fairy, they had no evidence to support their claims. Just a phantom villain to blame for the worst atrocity against the People in living memory.

It reeked of an LEP cover-up, and understandably, there weren't many who believed it. Instead, the fairies in Haven were convinced that they were being betrayed by cowardly politicians while humanity mobilised for war. The LEP tried to reassure them that humanity still had no idea the People even existed, but nobody trusted a word the LEP said anymore.

Conspiracy theories were everywhere. Some fairies insisted that the LEP had tricked the Council into going along with their lie, while others simply thought that the Council was too weak or afraid to fight back against the hated humans.

Every theory had a common theme, however: the LEP was the enemy. There were daily protests demanding retaliation against the Mud People and that the LEP be drastically reformed, and it wasn't uncommon for them to turn violent. After the large number of fatalities it had sustained trying to hold off Amber's forces at Tara, the LEP was stretched impossibly thin. Haven was on the brink of collapse.

It all made Holly irrationally angry. The only thing that had been covered up was Artemis's involvement. The LEP couldn't bear to admit that a human was responsible for saving them from a war that they had no chance to win, and so they had buried Artemis's heroism, instead naming Holly and Captain Galadhon as the saviours of the People. They had even nominated her for a medal, which she had immediately declined. Holly had never been a career elf, and the injustice of Artemis's sacrifice being concealed was a lot more important to her than anything as superficial as her own reputation. _If Artemis doesn't get one,_ she had said, _I don't want one either. He deserves it far more than I do._

Holly did her best to ignore the sudden emptiness she felt as her thoughts inevitably turned to her human friend. Everyone told her that time wold alleviate the grief, but Holly knew they were wrong. Every time it hit her it was as raw as the first time. She had no doubt that that pain would haunt her until the end of her days.

The elf was still so lost in her thoughts as she pushed open the door to the Situations booth that she almost missed her name being called.

"Holly. Holly? Hello?"

She turned to see the LEP's technical consultant, Foaly, trotting towards her.

"Hey, Foaly," she said. She tried offering a smile, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Holly, what are you doing here?"

Holly gave her friend a withering look. "I work here?"

Foaly narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I'm aware of that. Not least because you've been working double shifts every day for the past three weeks. When was the last time you had a day off?" The centaur looked at her a little more closely. "Or a proper night's sleep for that matter."

Holly shrugged. "Just trying to do my bit to keep this city together."

Foaly didn't look convinced, but he didn't push it. "Never mind that now," he said. "There's an urgent situation."

Holly raised an eyebrow and followed the centaur into the Situations booth. "So I've heard. Care to fill me in?"

Foaly ignored her, heading over to the one of the booth's computers. A moment later, the relevant files started flashing up on the wall mounted screens.

Holly nodded a greeting to the only other people in the room, two elves. K'Azir, who had taken on the mantle of LEP commander after Amber had murdered Holly's long-time friend Trouble Kelp, and Galadhon, who was a Captain just like Holly.

"About time you showed up, Short," barked K'Azir, who seemed to resemble Commander Root more every day. "Foaly, bring her up to speed."

"Very well, Commander," Foaly began. "As you are aware, Holly, some fairies have decided to take the law into their own hands following the Battle of Tara."

Holly nodded. As a recon officer, she knew better than most. It was often her job to contain the rogue fairies that headed up to the surface to issue a little Mud Man justice. By and large, the People were a peaceful bunch, but there still a few renegades who took it upon themselves to avenge the innocent civilians murdered at Tara. Blood for blood, they said. A life for a life. After all, the humans were just animals. It made Holly sick. It seemed as if all you had to do to justify an atrocity was to demonize the victim.

She couldn't help herself recalling an incident just last week when she had been sent to apprehend a pair of sprites that had skipped bail and headed to the surface. The pair had locked a bunch of humans in their town hall during a meeting and burned it to the ground. She had got there in time to arrest them, but not fast enough to save lives. She could still hear the screams when she closed her eyes.

All surface travel had been suspended, but the Earth's crust was riddled with illegal tunnels that could still be used to get from Haven to the surface. So far the LEP, mainly thanks to Foaly's computer skills, had managed to pass the incidents off as accidental to the humans, but it was only a matter of time before a fairy was caught in the act. And when that happened, ten thousand years of peace between humanity and the People would unravel.

Foaly brought up a picture of three pixies on the screen, all smiling and laughing together.

"Two days ago," he continued, "these three illegally made their way to the surface. We suspect they were planning an attack."

Holly shook her head in disgust. In the picture, they all looked so happy and carefree. So innocent. It was hard to imagine that they could be murderers.

"Did they succeed?" she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"No," said Foaly. "Apparently, someone was waiting for them."

"Someone?" Holly frowned. "Who?"

Foaly looked uncomfortable, so K'Azir answered for him.

"We don't know, Holly. All we know is that all three showed up dead today."

Holly felt dread worm its way into her stomach. This was it. The Mud People were onto them. War was inevitable.

"So that's it?" she asked, her mouth dry. "The humans are fighting back?"

To her surprise, Foaly shook his head. "No. At least, we don't think so. I've hacked everything – and you know how thorough I am, I mean _everything_ – that any human government has. There's nothing. If humanity was mobilising against the People, there would be at least a trace, but there's nothing. Not even a reference, not from the CIA, not from MI6, not from Mossad. Not from anyone.

"Don't get me wrong, whoever did this has a terrifying knowledge of the People. Not only do they know we exist, but they were able to track and kill shielded fairies without leaving a trace. And make no mistake, they _wanted_ usto know what they did." Foaly sighed. "I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse. At least now we know they're a threat, but when the public hear about this…"

He tailed off. They all know how the public would respond to this.

"They won't," said K'Azir. "This is all completely classified. Officially, those three are missing."

"You're going to lie to everyone about this?" said Holly. "That'll do wonders for our credibility."

K'Azir rounded on her. "Listen here, Short," he snapped, his face reddening to a shade that would have made Root proud. "I'm in command, not you. That means I make the decisions, and you shut up and deal with it. Besides, we don't _have_ any credibility to undermine. If people find out about this, it could tip things over the edge. We simply cannot afford to take that risk."

"So why are you telling me about this? Why now?"

K'Azir sighed. Like Holly, it didn't look as though he had slept properly in weeks.

"Until today, apprehending the vigilantes on the surface was relatively straightforward once we had located them. But now, any fairy going to the surface could be walking into a trap. Any fairy we send to intervene is running the same risk. So, until this threat is contained…"

He didn't need to finish. Holly knew exactly where he was headed.

"Until then, all surface operations are restricted to experienced field agents," she supplied.

K'Azir nodded. Holly glanced at Galadhon, and suddenly everything fell into place.

"Where are we headed?" she asked, trying to keep the note of disappointment from her voice. Once upon a time, Holly had lived for the opportunity to visit the surface. That was why she had joined recon in the first place. But lately, her surface missions had only depressed her. Seeing otherwise ordinary fairies determined to perpetrate violence broke her heart. And she had seen more dead bodies over the last month than in the entire rest of her life. Anyone would struggle to keep a positive mindset, but Holly was still overwhelmed by grief for Artemis. She was about as far from a _positive mindset_ as it was possible to be.

"Africa," answered Foaly, bringing up a map of the relevant region. "Specifically central Africa – what the humans call the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's a poor and unstable country, even by human standards. We're tracking a shuttle there. No way for us to know their intentions, but the containment of any illegal surface ventures is classed as high priority."

Holly nodded. Whether the shuttle's occupants had malicious intentions or not, they were still breaking the law, and especially in the current climate, the LEP wasn't prepared to risk that they would get themselves captured by the Mud People.

"You and Galadhon are being dispatched to intercept it. Your primary objective is containment. You are clear to engage any and all human forces that threaten the People's secrecy."

Holly nodded again and made to leave with Galadhon, but Foaly grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Holly," he started awkwardly, as though he didn't quite know how to say what was on his mind. "Listen… I know you're upset about Artemis." Holly tensed almost imperceptibly. "I know those scars will never properly heal. But I also know that working yourself to death won't help anyone."

Holly clenched her jaw. "I don't know what you mean."

"You're throwing yourself into your work because you don't know how to deal with your grief. Don't even try and pretend otherwise. And it might make it easier to ignore the pain now, but trust me, it's not healthy."

"Be careful, Foaly."

The hostility in Holly's eyes was difficult to ignore, but Foaly ploughed on, pushing aside his instinct of self-preservation. It was generally not a good idea to risk antagonizing Holly – the elf had a fiery temper at the best of times – but she was his friend and he hated to see her like this.

"Holly, please, listen to me. You look awful. Promise me you'll take a day off and get at least some rest."

"Foaly…"

"I'm serious, Holly. Promise me."

Holly looked into her friend's pleading eyes and couldn't find it in her to say no. "Fine," she muttered. "One day."

Before Foaly could get her to promise anything else, Holly set off after Galadhon to get kitted out for her mission. She never heard the soft _thank you_ that followed her.

* * *

 **Chute E162 Terminal, Democratic Republic of Congo**

Holly and Galadhon made good time to Africa. When LEP officers needed to make quick journeys, they rode magma flares to the surface in titanium eggs designed by Foaly. It wasn't a comfortable ride, and accidents weren't exactly unheard of, but it was a lot faster than a shuttle.

Once they had arrived in the nearest terminal to their destination, Holly and Galadhon wasted no time strapping on their wings and heading out onto the surface.

Holly took a moment to appreciate the night sky above her before setting off for possible combat. There wasn't much light pollution in central Africa, so the stars stood out clearly against the black canvas. Holly gave a sad little smile. Before Artemis had been admitted to the J. Argon clinic to have his Atlantis Complex treated, she had visited him whenever she was on her way to complete the ritual. They had always watched the stars together.

"Weapons check?" said a voice behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Affirmative," she replied, drawing her neutrino and confirming that it was still operational. She entered a few commands into her wrist computer. "Establishing com link."

Galadhon did the same. A moment later, Foaly's voice filled both their helmets.

"Frost, you're online with Ops. Locating target. Standby."

"Copy that, Ops," responded Holly. Frost was their designated call sign for the operation.

"The target shuttle was abandoned twenty clicks east of your current location. We have the occupants on Scopes, heading towards you. Sending co-ordinates to your helmets. Move to intercept."

Scopes was the shop name for the human satellites that Foaly had hijacked and now used to assist LEP surface operations. Holly smiled grimly as a red dot appeared on her visor's heads-up display.

"Acknowledged," she said, flicking the ignition on her mechanical wings and soaring into the sky, shield already active. Galadhon followed suit. "Frost is en route. What are we looking for?"

"We have a visual on four elves," relayed Foaly. "Looks like they've tried to disguise themselves as humans." He paused uncertainly. "The resolution isn't good enough to be sure, but I think I see at least one firearm."

Holly frowned. "Human or fairy?"

"Not sure," answered Foaly from back at Police Plaza. "Just be careful, Holly."

Holly and Galadhon flew fast and low. Thanks to their magical shields and Foaly's advanced Shimmer Suits, they were completely invisible to the naked and mechanical eye, so they didn't need to worry about being spotted by a stray Mud Person. And considering the situation, speed was crucial.

They almost made it in time to apprehend the fairies before they reached their destination. Almost. _If I had an ounce of gold for every time I was_ almost _there in time,_ reflected Holly, _I'd be as rich as Artemis was. Well, maybe not_ that _rich, but you get the idea._

Holly scanned her surroundings for the fairies they were tracking as she and Galadhon reached the human town. They weren't hard to spot. The four elves sauntered into the town, hats and scarves clumsily wrapped around the heads to hide their pointed ears. Thankfully, most residents were asleep, so no-one was around to see the curious figures as they started making their way through the narrows streets.

"Ops," said Holly quickly into her helmet mic. "Frost-One has eyes on all four targets. Requesting permission to engage."

From down in Police Plaza, Foaly peeked at the feed from her helmet cam.

"Negative, Frost-One. If you go in now and they resist, you'll wake the whole town up. Hold your position and wait for further orders."

Holly bit her tongue. She knew Foaly was right, but every instinct she had was telling her to stop the fairies before they could hurt someone. She looked on as they explored. _They're searching for a target,_ she realized. There was no longer any doubt in her mind as to what their intentions were.

As she watched, the four came to a sudden stop outside a crude hospital building. It wasn't impressive – dilapidated, and small – but it likely played host to the highest concentration of humans of any building in the small town. The fairies seemed to discuss something amongst themselves for a moment, then one of them shrugged, as if to say _"sure, why not?"_

 _They've found their target,_ Holly realized with horror. Galadhon was already relaying the information to Police Plaza.

"Ops, this is Frost-Two. Targets are preparing to attack. Contact imminent."

"Copy that. We'll apprehend them inside the building. Do not engage until they make contact. Frost-One, move closer and prepare to follow them inside. Frost-Two, cover her approach."

Holly didn't need telling twice. She dropped into a steep dive, still invisible, soaring towards the renegade fairies and touching down silently a few meters away. She drew her weapon.

Galadhon, too, descended, landing on a nearby roof. His weapon was already in his hand, ready to stun anything that threatened Holly.

"Frost-One, in position."

Holly watched through the sights of her neutrino as one of the fairies opened the simple padlock on the door with an omnitool. While he worked, another was spray-painting the words _For Tara_ on the road outside in English. The Latin characters were crude, but still just about legible. Once he'd finished, all four fairies raised neutrinos and went inside.

"D'Arvit," swore Holly. "I see four weapons, and they are entering the building. Frost-One is pursuing."

Even as she spoke, her mind was reeling. How on in Frond's name did they get neutrinos? Any laser weapon was completely illegal outside of the LEP. It was nigh impossible for a criminal to get their hands on something like a neutrino. Besides, it wasn't even fatal. How were these fairies going to avenge the massacre at Tara – by stunning people for a few hours? Or were they planning something twisted after they had knocked the humans out?

"Frost-Two, moving to assist," said Galadhon, preparing to join Holly. But something in the corner of his eye made him pause. "Standby, standby! I have movement behind the target building!"

Holly hesitated. She knew she should wait and reassess the situation, but there were almost certainly innocent humans inside the hospital that were in serious danger. And even though they were only Mud People, that didn't mean they deserved to die.

A child's scream for help made the decision for her. Weapon up, she charged into the shabby lobby area. It was abandoned. Holly eyes darted around the room, searching for an open door to indicate where the attackers were. There!

Even as she ran towards it, shouts and screams were audible from the rooms on the other side. A child sprinted through the open door towards her, but crumpled when caught from behind with a neutrino beam. One of the fairies came out afterwards, a sharp laugh escaping his lips

Holly raised her weapon and unshielded. There was no way she could shoot accurately while vibrating faster than the eye could see.

The fairy's laugh turned into a yelp, and the colour drained from his face.

"LEP! LEP!"

"That's right," said Holly, preparing to squeeze the trigger. "Goodnight."

But before she could fire, the fairy slumped forwards, a half-formed look of surprise frozen on his face. A red stain spread quickly across his back. Behind him, a tall figure was already melting away into next room. There were more shouts, but this time in Gnomish. Holly could hear the panic in the voices.

She sprinted forward, leaping over the elf's dead body, and diving into the next room. In a heartbeat, her eyes scanned her new surroundings. There were a few unconscious humans collapsed against the walls, but no sign of the fairies or their attacker.

"Ops, this is Frost-One," she shouted into her helmet mic as she carried on following the sound of combat. "There's a human here, an armed one. I think he was waiting for them. I have one confirmed fairy fatality. Requesting immediate assistance."

"Copy that, Frost-One," came Galadhon's voice in her ear. "Frost-Two is moving to assist. Sit tight."

"Negative. I'm pursuing the targets."

Holly was sure she heard Foaly curse from back in Police Plaza, but she didn't have time to worry about that now. From the next room there came a dull thud, followed by the characteristic hiss of a silenced pistol.

"No!" she shouted, determined to intervene before anyone else was killed. She charged into the room, fully expecting to be met with a hail of bullets. But when she crossed the threshold, everything was still.

In the space of a second, her well-trained eyes absorbed every detail of the room. There was no sign of the mysterious human assassin. One of the rogue elves lay obviously dead, slumped against a cracked wall with a bullet hole in his forehead. The other two cowered behind hospital beds, clearly terrified. Holly raised her neutrino to stun them for arrest.

That was when she registered the grenade.

There was no time for rational thought. Holly did the only thing that came to mind. She dived for cover as the world erupted in fire.

Her suit immediately flexed, the tiny scales all closing ranks to provide a rigid barrier, absorbing the worst of the impact. Even so, she was still launched into the air and slammed into the nearest wall, a metal hospital bed landing on top of her.

Holly groaned and tried to get up, but her body didn't want to obey. Everything hurt, but already magic was dulling the pain. She was vaguely aware of various different voices vying for her attention.

"Frost-One, come in. Repeat, Frost-One, what the hell is going on up there?" K'Azir's voice.

"Holly! Holly! Are you OK?" Foaly's voice, just as full of concern as she would have expected.

"Captain Short. Holly. We have to go. Now."

A hazy figure before her was sharpening. Galadhon. He reached down and started pulling debris off her.

"Mmpph?" It was about all she could manage.

The other elf grabbed her and dragged her to her feet. "Not now," he said. "That explosion woke up the whole village. In a few minutes, we're going to have some serious company."

Holly closed her eyes for a moment, trying to organise her thoughts.

"Can't we just shield?" she asked, still groggy.

" _We_ can," Galadhon said. "But they can't." He gestured at the lifeless fairies they had originally been tracking.

"D'Arvit. You carrying any cam foil? I don't think mine will work very well anymore."

Galadhon nodded, understanding Holly's thinking immediately. He leant down, grabbing one of the dead elves. The explosion had blown a large hole in the outside wall, giving them an easy route into the alley beside the hospital. He started dragging to elf towards it.

"There's another body in the lobby," said he said, gesturing Holly to go and fetch it.

She nodded and staggered off in the indicated direction, still not really thinking straight. By the time she returned, Galadhon had already cleaned up the other evidence of fairy presence. He helped her carry the body outside and carefully laid it down with the others, and then placed a sheet of cam foil over them. Both of them shielded, gently vibrating out of the visible spectrum.

It felt horribly undignified just dragging the bodies away and dumping them an alley, but they didn't really have a choice. It was that or leaving them to be discovered by the Mud People that were already pouring into the hospital.

"Holly! For Frond's sake _are you OK?_ "

The elf smiled under her helmet. "Yes, Foaly. A little worse for wear, but I'm alright."

"Thank the gods. What happened?"

"Later," interrupted Galadhon, ever the pragmatist. "Right now, we need urgent evacuation for the two of us and four bodies."

"There's already a shuttle en route, ETA two hours. But you need to get somewhere safe for pick up. Marking viable evac locations now."

A plethora of green dots appeared on Holly's heads-up display, each with a little number next to it.

"Number seven," said Galadhon after a moment's consideration. "To the North. I can fly the bodies over in cam foil."

Holly nodded. They waited for some of the attention around the hospital to die down before making their way away from the hub of activity. Since Galadhon hadn't been caught in the grenade's blast, his wings and moonbelt were still functional. One by one, he carried the bodies to safety, wrapped in the cam foil. Then he and Holly made their way to the evac site under cover of their shields. It was far from an ideal solution, but their luck held and they weren't spotted.

The two elves sat under a ridge without speaking a few hundred meters away from the outskirts of the town, waiting for the evac shuttle. It was Holly who eventually broke the silence.

"What do you think will happen in Haven?"

Galadhon cocked his head to one side, considering it.

"The People are generally peaceful," he replied carefully. "We were at war with humanity once. We gave up the fight then, I don't see why we can't now. In time, the anger will pass."

Holly wasn't convinced. "And if it doesn't?"

"We can't fight a war against the humans. There are too many of them. People might be angry right now, but they aren't stupid. If they want to carry on living, they'll only poke the bear so many times before they decide to quit while they're ahead. Trust me, Holly, it will pass."

Holly let it go. She hoped he was right.

A noise from behind them disturbed the fragile calm. Holly spun, already drawing her weapon. The cam foil they had draped over the dead fairies was rustling, as though something underneath it was moving.

Galadhon pulled the sheet away, revealing the four dead elves. Except one of them wasn't dead. They hadn't noticed before because no magic was healing his injuries after the explosion. Holly guessed that he had neglected the magic restoring Ritual a little too long. He sat up, looking very disoriented. Holly could see the fear slowly register on his face as his memories returned.

"LEP?" he asked cautiously, grimacing in pain from the various injuries he had sustained from the explosion. It seemed like he'd been lucky – they weren't too serious. But that didn't mean they didn't hurt like hell. "My friends… are they OK?"

Galadhon didn't waste any time on small talk. "Never mind them. The person that attacked you, can you describe him?"

Despite how dire his situation was looking, the elf decided that this was his chance to be a tough guy.

"I don't take orders from you, _LEP_ ," he sneered. "And I asked you a question. Where are my friends?"

Holly wasn't really in the mood to be sympathetic. She grabbed the elf and roughly shoved him into the dirt next to the bodies of his friends.

"Your friends are dead. You're lucky not to be. In fact, you owe us your life. Not that you deserved me risking mine to try and save it. So, if I were you, I would co-operate. Understand?"

The elf's resistance crumbled. He recognised the angry one. He'd heard stories about her. She was a loose cannon recon Captain.

Holly saw the fight leave his eyes. "Good. Now, the attacker. Describe him."

"Her," he corrected. Holly frowned. "At least, I think it was a her. She had long hair. That means a girl, right?"

Galadhon raised an eyebrow. "Usually."

"Hey, I don't know human fashion. How am I supposed to know?"

"What about her face?" said Holly, not wanting the conversation to get derailed.

"No idea. It was covered up, with like, you know, a mask, or something. It was dark, alright? I didn't see so well. I don't think I can really remember much."

Holly tried not to groan. _Long hair_ and _probably a girl_ didn't exactly narrow it down very much.

"Think harder," she growled. "Was there anything distinctive or unusual about her?"

The elf shrugged. "She was quick. Like nothing I've ever seen. And strong. One of my buddies, she picked him up and threw him into a wall so hard it cracked." He paused to think for a moment. "She was using a gun, but she had two swords as well. You know, strapped to her back. That's weird, right? Even for humans?"

The blood drained out of Holly's face. A girl who knew about the People, with insane speed and strength, and twin swords? No. It wasn't possible. She was dead.

"You're lying," she whispered.

The elf shook his head. "That's all I saw."

Holly actually punched him. "You're lying," she repeated, her voice like iron. "Tell me the truth. Tell me _now_. What did she really look like?"

He stumbled back, clutching his face where Holly had hit him, now completely convinced that she was unhinged.

"Please, miss, I promise, it's the truth… please, don't hurt me…"

Holly drew back her arm to hit him again, but Galadhon grabbed her and held her back.

"Holly, calm down," he snapped. "What in Frond's name has gotten into you?"

Holly took a few deep breaths. "I… I don't know," she said shakily. "It's just… he's lying. He has to be."

"How could he be? How would he even know about her?"

Holly shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is, she's dead. And dead people don't come back."

Galadhon didn't have anything to say to that.

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh, exciting. Is it Natalya? Did she survive? Or is it someone else?

Just to let people know, the problems in Haven and the renegade fairies are by no means the main focus of this story. The main plotline is entirely independent of most of what took place in this chapter, but I wanted to start with some action, in the same way as most of the canon books start with Holly on a mission largely unconnected to overall story. The thing about needing Amber to lend credibility to the idea that humanity wasn't responsible for Tara was actually mentioned in Winter of Decay when Artemis and Holly are ordered to bring her in alive, but obviously things didn't go according to plan.

And before anyone asks, yes, Opal is in the prologue because she is the main antagonist in this story. I know everyone's bored of her, but this is supposed to conclude the series without leaving a bunch of loose ends. There's still past Opal running around somewhere, so our heroes need to deal with that before things can really be over.

I curious if anyone can guess the significance of the rest of the prologue…

Anyway, if you were wondering about Artemis, he'll make an appearance next chapter. Speaking of which, I've written about 50k words of this as of writing this author's note, so updates should be frequent. In the meantime, a great use of your time would be to review :P I would love to know what people think so far.

-Kio


	2. Lost

**A/N:** Sorry this took a little longer to upload than planned! However, I am now completely with exams (no more chemistry ever! :D) so I should be good to update at a reasonable pace. And thank you so much for the support on the first chapter, it means the world to me!

As promised, this chapter sheds a little light on Artemis's situation, and a little more action from Holly. Super significant plot related stuff commences next chapter. Anyway, enjoy.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 2; Lost**

 **Location Unknown, Present Day**

The boy still didn't know who he was. A part of him had expected the memories to return on their own after a few minutes, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

He looked around himself for the umpteenth time since gaining consciousness, but the beautiful scenery held no more answers than it had the last time. He thought he recognized the mountains in the distance as the Alps – not that he could explain where that knowledge came from – but that was the only clue as to his location.

On the grass next to him lay the only two personal possessions he had been able to find, both retrieved from the same pocket. One was a handwritten note bearing a series of numbers – what they meant, he could only guess – and the other was a coin with a small hole in the centre, attached to a simple leather necklace. He didn't recognize the design on the coin, but as soon as he had laid eyes on it, he had known it was of immense importance to him.

 _If only I could remember…_

He gazed at his reflection in the shimmering surface of the lake before him. An odd-looking boy stared back. Dichromatic eyes – a curious anomaly – framed by shoulder-length raven hair that looked as if it hadn't had more than a cursory rinse in more than a month. His skin was pale, unhealthily so. A mess of bristles decorated his chin.

Alongside a pair of ill-fitting jeans, he was wearing a dirty black t-shirt with a winged skull and the words _Avenged Sevenfold_ – whatever _that_ meant –printed on it. Something told him that the clothes weren't his, and he had a feeling that he would have felt much more comfortable in a suit.

And then there was that… _thing_ at the back of his mind. That odd sensation that didn't feel like it quite belonged there, as though he was sharing his head space with someone else. It wasn't as defined as a voice; something more akin to an idea. An idea that wasn't his. A suggestion he couldn't quite pin down.

The boy shook his head. It wasn't something he could describe, not really. It was too abstract, too nebulous. The more he tried to focus on it, the more it seemed to shy away, as though it refused to be examined. No words could quite do it justice, like it transcended something as mundane as language.

Frustrated, he got slowly to his feet, initially struggling to maintain his balance. Co-ordination didn't seem like it came naturally to him, especially with no memory of having ever stood up before. Once he was confident that he could do so without falling over, he stooped to pick up the coin and the note.

He looked out again at the world he had found himself in. There was no visible sign of civilisation. It started to dawn on him how alone he truly was. He suddenly felt very small against the towering maintains that dominated the horizon. Fear that had been so far kept at bay by curiosity took hold. He had no friends, no family, no money, and no idea what to do.

He didn't even have a name.

Unbidden, his fist closed around the coin in his hand, the rough metal digging into his skin. He'd known at once that it was special, but it now seemed to take on a new significance. The only thing he owned in the whole world. Alongside the note, his one link to whatever past he may have had. He opened his hand and turned it over in his fingers, drawing what comfort he could from the simple motion.

 _If only I could remember…_

He looked again at the note, trying to find something familiar in the numbers scrawled there. A five caught his eye. He found it oddly comforting.

 _What does it mean?_

His writing? Someone else's? Did it even matter?

 _What does it mean?_

Perhaps it was a phone number. Perhaps it was a code. Perhaps it was a grid reference. There was no way to him to know.

He didn't trust the note, not for a second. In fact, he didn't trust anything about this new world of uncertainty he had found himself in. But it was better than nothing. He realized that he didn't much care if investigating the number felt like a risk. It was all he had. A single chance to find out who he was. Surely that was worth any risk.

 _That's all very well,_ said a sardonic voice in his head, _any plan on how to actually achieve that?_

The boy took one last look at the jagged line of mountains. Where before the distant peaks had simply been scenery, now they felt strangely ominous. He didn't have anything as sophisticated as a plan; all he wanted was to get away from here.

"No," he said aloud. "No, I don't have any idea what to do. And I'm afraid. But I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing.

He turned away from the mountains and started walking, an echo of his past internally smiling at his determination.

* * *

 **Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Holly had hoped she would feel better after a good night's sleep. Perhaps she would have done, if she had actually had one, instead of drifting in and out of consciousness, dreams invaded by a shadow with two swords.

She'd given up after a few hours. The elf's words kept on echoing around her head until she could ignore them no longer.

" _She was quick. Like nothing I've ever seen. And strong… but she had two swords as well."_

 _No. She's dead. I saw the explosion, and she was there, I know she was. Nothing could have survived._

Holly shook her head, trying to pull herself together. _Look at me, lying awake, afraid of a phantom. This is ridiculous._

 _Is it?_ said another voice in her head. _Who else could it be?_

 _Not her! She's dead. And dead people don't come back._

 _You did,_ it pointed out. _You came back to life on Hybras._

 _That was different!_

 _Why?_ her other side asked nastily. _Because it was Artemis's doing? He was there, he was with her. And he's achieved miracles before._

 _Even if he could, why would he ever save Natalya?_

 _Come on, Holly. This isn't about her. It was never about her._

"Shut up," she said aloud. "Just leave me alone, alright?"

She didn't want to think about it. Natalya was dead, that much she was sure of. She'd seen the explosion with her own eyes. She couldn't be back. It simply wasn't possible. Because if Natalya was alive, then there was a chance that…

No. It was impossibly unlikely. She didn't dare to let herself hope. If she did, when it turned out she was wrong, it would be like losing him all over again.

In the end, she did the only thing she seemed able to. She ignored it, leaving far earlier for work than her normal self would ever have dreamed. There would a mission available for her, she knew there would. There were always spare missions these days. She would find something nice and intense to take her mind off things.

The elf was surprised when she made it Police Plaza. It seemed she had managed to beat the crowds that invariably congregated outside to protest the supposed injustices of the LEP. Recently, the demonstrators had taken to demanding the release of fairies arrested for attacks on the surface. Martyrs, they called them. The brave fairies willing to do what the LEP was too weak to. It made Holly feel ill.

She frowned as she walked the last distance to the entrance. She hadn't seen anywhere in Haven this quiet in the last month. Were things finally calming down? She almost laughed aloud at that suggestion. Of course they weren't. No, this was something else. As if the whole city was holding its breath. It was unsettling. She made a mental note to talk to K'Azir about it when she got a chance.

Once inside the LEP headquarters, her main objective was to find Foaly, but she needn't have tried. The centaur had apparently had a similar idea, greeting her as soon as she was inside.

"Holly! Why the long face?" he asked, apparently unaware of the irony.

The elf tried to rearrange her miserable features into something a little more cheerful, but she wasn't sure how successful she was. She gave Foaly a little shrug, as if to say _why not?_

"Listen, Holly. I spoke to Galadhon, he told me about what happened on the surface."

Holly was torn. In truth, the reason she had been seeking Foaly out in the first place was to talk about exactly that, but now that it came to it, she wasn't sure she wanted to. All of a sudden, her earlier plan to find a difficult and dangerous mission to distract her sounded very attractive.

"Don't you see, Holly?" Foaly continued excitedly. "If Natalya's alive, then Artemis might be as well!"

"No, I don't see," she snapped back, knowing it wasn't fair to take her frustration out on Foaly, but not really caring. " _If_ Natalya is alive. We have absolutely no evidence she is. And even if she was, that doesn't in any way mean that Artemis is. If either of them had a way out, why would they save the other?" She shook her head. "Sorry, Foaly. You're chasing a ghost."

She expected indignation in response to her uncharitable tone, but her friend did something she did not expect. He gave her a look of pity that almost broke her heart.

"Why are you so afraid of the possibility he could be alive?" he asked softly. "I know it's a slim hope, but it's a hope nonetheless. Don't you want him back?"

Holly clenched her fists. "Of course I bloody do!" she said, her voice a little louder than she had intended. A few LEP officers gave them an odd look. "Of course I do," she hissed, her voice quieter but no less hostile. "But I'm not going to start believing he is just because someone _might_ have seen someone who looks like someone else that was with him when he died."

Foaly gave her an odd look, but didn't say anything. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I let him go, Foaly," she said quietly. "I let him go. It was the most painful thing I have ever had to do. It almost broke me. I don't think I could do it again."

Foaly cast his gaze down to the floor. Now that he fully understood why Holly was refusing to hope, it filled him with sadness. He had been upset when Artemis died, very much so. Of course he had. He had lost a good friend. But the effect on Holly had been something else. He didn't think he had fully appreciated quite how much the Mud Boy had meant to her until he was gone.

Once so much larger than life, Holly had been like a shell since Artemis's death. It was only now that he realized that he wasn't so ready to believe that Artemis was alive just because he wanted the Mud Boy back; he wanted Holly back too. The old Holly.

"Captain Short!"

The shout dragged the two from their thoughts. Holly spun to see K'Azir striding towards her.

"Commander," she said, offering a hurried salute.

K'Azir waved the gesture away. "You shouldn't be here, Holly. You need rest."

"With respect, sir, I'm fine. And you need all the fairies you can get right now."

" _Mission capable_ fairies," he corrected. "You'll be no use to anyone if you carry on like this."

"I'm more than mission capable, sir," said Holly, rather resenting the implication that she wasn't able to do her job.

"Today, perhaps. But not for much longer at this rate. Foaly pointed out that you've been working far too hard recently, and I'm inclined to agree. You need to take a break."

Holly turned to face her friend, murder in her eyes. "Did he now?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.

Foaly took an unconscious step back. "Hey, you know what?" he said. "I just remembered I have this thing I need to go and do." He carried on backing away. "Like, an important thing. I'm sure you understand."

Holly opened her mouth to issue the centaur with a threat that would have no doubt caused him to accelerate from a casual trot into a gallop, but she was interrupted by an elf calling to K'Azir. He looked worried.

"Commander! We have a situation."

K'Azir couldn't help sigh. Not again. "What now?"

"Unrest in downtown Haven."

"Serious?"

The elf nodded. "Very. We only have a preliminary report; it came out of nowhere. Must have been planned. They're coming towards us, looting anything they can, and burning what they can't."

Holly looked at K'Azir. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to help. More specifically, she wanted to _fight_.

The commander caught her eye. He knew at once what she was thinking.

"Fine," he grumbled. "It's all hands on deck to sort this out, so you can stay. But don't even think about coming in tomorrow. You're taking a day off whether you like it or not."

Holly was torn between smiling and pouting. "One day," she said, already heading off to get kitted out. "No more."

* * *

 **Location Unknown, Present Day**

The boy didn't know long he had been walking for. All he knew was that his feet ached, his throat was parched and his stomach growled for sustenance. The foothills of the mountain range gave way to flat countryside, and eventually, he came to a road. It was the first sign of civilisation since his awakening.

He glanced up the road, past the leafless trees and dead shrubs that lined it, and was surprised to see a vehicle approaching him. A car of some kind. A relatively expensive-looking one. Without thinking, he extended his hand, thumb pointed upwards. He couldn't explain quite why, it just sort of seemed like the right thing to do.

The car slowed down as it approached, the driver winding down the window.

"Vous allez bien?" he said once he was alongside, a frown furrowing his brow.

The boy didn't recognize the words themselves, but found himself able to understand the meaning. Without thinking, he found himself responding in perfect French.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Please can you give me a lift to the nearest settlement?"

The man raised a questioning eyebrow. The boy realized that he probably didn't look even remotely fine.

"Who are you?" the man asked suspiciously.

The boy gave a nervous shrug, but didn't say anything.

The man sighed. "Fine. What's your name?"

"I don't know."

He wasn't sure what made him answer honestly. It just sort of tumbled out.

"You don't know?" The driver's voice was incredulous. "How can you not know?"

The boy shrugged again. "I don't remember anything."

"You sure about that?" asked the man. He sounded torn, as if he couldn't decide between sympathy and cynicism. Eventually sympathy won out. "Look, I can take you to a police station if you want, or a hospital. They might be able to help you."

The boy shook his head instinctively. He knew at once that involving the emergency services would be a mistake, though he wasn't sure how.

"Please," he said again. "I just need to get to a town or something." He wasn't sure what else to say.

The driver gave a resigned sigh. "Alright," he muttered, opening the passenger door. "Get in."

The boy nodded gratefully, uncertain why he was so easily trusting the man. It wasn't like he knew anything about him. He could have any number of bad intentions. But the boy was alone, and he was afraid. The simple display of kindness, genuine or not, meant a lot to him.

The driver kept shooting him odd glances as they travelled in what the boy hoped was the direction of the nearest town or village. He finally ran out of patience and broke the awkward silence.

"You really have no idea who you are, huh?" He shook his head in disbelief. "How does that even happen? Amnesia or something?"

The boy turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. The ghost of a smile danced on his lips.

"I don't remember how I came to be this way. That's rather the problem."

The driver rolled his eyes. The boy was oddly reminded of someone, but the feeling was gone so quickly he wasn't sure it had ever been there at all.

"For what it's worth, your accent sounds Irish. It's a probably a safe bet you have some friends or family there." He stopped to think for a moment. "You don't have any clues on you? What about a wallet, or some kind of ID?"

The boy hesitated, uncertain, but then took out the note he had found and showed it to the driver.

"Just this. It's a whole load of numbers. I don't suppose they mean anything to you?"

The driver shook his head apologetically. "Looks like a phone number. You should call it. If anything has answers for you, I would say it's that."

The boy nodded noncommittedly, but didn't say anything. The rest of the journey passed in silence.

Truth be told, the boy was sorry when they arrived at their destination – a city the driver told him was called Nice. It had been oddly reassuring not to be alone for the first time since his awakening. He didn't particularly look forward to returning to solitude.

He thanked the man for helping him and made to get out of the car, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. He turned back to the driver, who was getting out his wallet. The boy's eyes widened as he watched him pull out a few notes and make to give them to him. He recognized them as currency.

"No," he said immediately, pushing the money away. "I can't accept that. You've already helped me."

The man gave a crooked smile. "You have any money?"

He said nothing, but his expression made it clear he didn't.

"Listen, son. You wanted to come to a town, but what are you going to do here with no money?" The boy looked away. He didn't have an answer for that. "You look hungry. You look tired. How are you going to get a meal or somewhere to sleep?"

The boy was a little overcome. Something told him that he wasn't exactly the kind of person who believed the _good of humanity._ This was… this was not what he would have expected.

"It's too much," he protested.

"No," the man replied firmly. "It's not. You've got nothing in the whole world, and I can spare the cash. It's only forty euros. Please, take it. Get yourself a pay-as-you-go phone and something to eat. Call that number when you get a chance."

The boy allowed him to push the notes into his hand. He wasn't sure what to say.

The man smiled a little and shook his head, exasperated.

"If it makes you feel better," he said, reaching out and taking the note with the phone number written on it. The boy didn't resist. "You can pay me back later." He rummaged around in the glovebox for a moment, eventually pulling out a pen. Leaning on the dashboard, he quickly jotted down a name and his own phone number on the other side of the scrap of paper and gave it back to the boy. "This is me," he said. "If you find out who you are, you can repay the favour. Sound fair?"

The boy gave nodded, giving the man a smile of genuine warmth and sincerity.

"Thank you," he said as he got out of the car. "Truly."

* * *

 **Downtown Haven, The Lower Elements**

The situation was rapidly getting out of control by the time Holly arrived in Downtown Haven with the rest of the LEP's response team. Acrid smoke was billowing out of already burning buildings behind the rioters. The group wasn't especially large, but it more than made up for it in attitude. Most of the crowd was dressed in black, their faces covered with bandanas or masks. Improvised melee weapons and home-made incendiary devices were proudly on display. It was clear that this was no peaceful protest.

The LEP began to prepare. Normally, they would have had no trouble finding fifty fairies to contain the unrest, but with the heavy casualties they had sustained recently and the number of officers occupied by other missions, they had been lucky to get close to half that number at short notice. Sixteen fairies equipped with full riot gear, and eight sharpshooters to stun anyone who decided to be a problem.

The riot police locked shields in front of the mob, forming a line just about wide enough to block the street. The others, Holly among them, drew their neutrinos and set up behind the defensive shield line. Their orders had been simple: stall the rioters and try and prevent them from hurting anyone. Other officers were already closing streets around them, and reinforcements would be with them as soon as possible.

They didn't have the personnel to properly engage them and make the appropriate arrests. The priority was to prevent them reaching the centre of Haven where they could cause lasting damage to the city. If some businesses got smashed up along the way, it wasn't the end of the world. Property could be repaired, and the more cynical among them had realized that property damage would only alienate potential supporters of the growing opposition to the LEP.

Once they were all in position, the LEP forces began moving forward as one. Holly noted with satisfaction that some of the faces in the crowd weren't quite so confident now. An advancing wall of armour-clad police officers wielding buzz batons tended to have that kind of effect on people.

She looked out into the mob of fairies. There were some signs about how the LEP was a hated enemy at the back of the crowd, but no one at the front had wasted time on catchy placards. They weren't interested in starting a dialogue; they were interested in violence. Most were elves and gnomes, but there were even a few pixies and dwarves dotted around as well.

 _Extraordinary,_ she thought, gripping her neutrino. _All these different families, united by a common enemy. They must really hate us to have forgotten their own differences and come together for this._

Once they were about ten meters away, the LEP force stopped, resting their riot shields on the ground and effectively barricading the street. They crouched, strengthening their collective stance and giving the other officers space to shoot over them. For a few moments, both groups waited, silently appraising each other. Most of the agitators seemed reluctant to actually engage the police force.

 _Perhaps I was wrong,_ thought Holly hopefully. _Perhaps they will back down without anyone having to get hurt._

Even as the thought was going through her head, the spell was broken by a tiny pixie towards the left-hand side of the mob. He yelled something indistinguishable in his comically high-pitched voice and hurled a bottle at the nearest business. Holly watched as the glass shattered against the entrance, its flammable contents splashing over the doors and igniting instantly. The tell-tale blue flames of an alcohol fire erupted, quickly spreading. Spud's Spud Emporium was burning. Fast.

A triumphant roar erupted from the amassed protestors. Someone threw a rock at one the LEP line that clattered uselessly off an armoured shield. A slightly larger projectile followed. Then a Molotov cocktail sailed towards them, exploding into brilliant flame against the shield wall.

Holly flinched. Hopefully the officers would be OK, but she couldn't be sure. Even though their armoured riot gear was supposed to be fireproof, being covered in burning liquid was never a pleasant experience.

The crowd's shouts continued to grow louder, forming a thunderous cacophony of sheer anger. Directed at straight at her and her colleagues. Great. Holly raised her neutrino. The next person who decided it was a good idea to throw something at the LEP was going to wake up with a really bad headache.

It didn't take long for a target to present itself. A particularly nasty looking gnome right at the front of the crowd was trying to figure how to light his own Molotov cocktail. He didn't seem to be having much success. Maybe he wasn't very bright.

 _I don't think so, mister,_ Holly said to herself, firing a solid burst into his chest from her neutrino before someone could help him get the crude incendiary device primed. He face-planted into the street a heartbeat later, falling like a marionette with its strings cut.

The effect was instantaneous. Silence descended over crowd as fairies looked down at their fallen comrade. Then, out of nowhere, came a roar.

"Charge!"

As one, the mob surged forward, brandishing their crude weapons and shouting as if their life depended on it. It was a fearsome sight.

 _Oops,_ thought Holly. _Maybe I shouldn't have been quite so trigger happy._ She shrugged, bringing up her neutrino to fire again. _Something else would have probably set them off if I hadn't._

She didn't bother trying to select an individual target this time, just flicked her weapon to rapid-fire mode and started letting loose as many shots as she could into the horde as in covered the short distance between them and the LEP defenders.

Around her, the other shooters followed suit. A great swathe of the incoming force went down under the sheer weight of fire, but every fairy that fell was immediately replaced by another from behind. In what felt like no time at all, the rioters were on them, slamming into the solid wall of shields.

The line held. Just. The mob kicked, punched and scratched at their enemy, shouting and flailing limbs, but the LEP stood firm. The armoured shields refused to yield. Behind them, the bearers pushed back with all their strength, digging in and calling on every last vestige of energy they had available. But even as they fought to keep the mob at bay, they could feel themselves beginning to tire. In a few moments, one of them would be forced back, just a short distance, but it would be enough. After all, a chain was only as strong as its weakest link. As soon as a gap appeared in the wall, the LEP would be instantly overrun.

Holly continued firing her neutrino, stunning anyone in the crowd that looked particularly threatening, but it was clear she wasn't having much of an effect. It was getting increasingly difficult to ignore the voice of self-preservation telling her to fall back, just a few steps, so that when the wall fell she would space to run for her life.

"Filters on!"

The shout had come from behind her. A friendly call? She tapped a few buttons on her wrist computer, sealing her helmet and activating its environmental filtering. Any gases she breathed in would now be scanned and cleansed of anything dangerous.

Two canisters sailed over the elf's head from behind, exploding at the same time about a meter above the protestors, spewing white smoke. The sinister clouds descended on the rioting fairies. Chaos was immediate.

 _Chemical weapons,_ she realized. _The reinforcements have arrived, and they're using chemical weapons._ She wasn't sure exactly what the chemical agent was – likely something inflammatory with no permanent side effects like tear gas. She doubted the LEP would dare use anything properly dangerous. Looking out into the crowd, she realized that her guess was spot on. Fairies were stumbling, clutching their eyes and nose as the toxins entered their system.

For a moment, it looked as if the LEP held the upper hand, but any hopes of a quick victory were shattered as one of the officers in the shield wall went down, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of opposition. The insurgents swarmed through the gap.

 _D'Arvit!_ thought Holly, already joining her colleagues in opening fire at the incoming militants. Several went down, but more were already stepping over them, exploding through the opening like water through a cracked damn. Some began running at the unarmoured shooters behind the wall, but most turned their attention to the other shield bearers, using bare fists to try and overwhelm the armoured bastions.

The riot police responded in kind, swinging buzz batons indiscriminately. Fairies went down, thousands of volts crackling around their frame, but there were always more to take their places. Some of the shield bearers seemed to realize that their position was untenable and tried to pull back, using their shields as blunt weapons, slamming them into anyone within range.

Another pair of tear gas canisters were launched into the air, detonating moments later, but they only succeeded in adding to the mayhem. The crowd was in a frenzy now, desperate to the escape the vicious toxins. It looked like the fairies weren't just fighting the LEP anymore; anyone in the way of was an obstacle to be removed. Forcefully. The mob was starting to fall apart, large numbers of fairies abandoning their cause to escape the tear gas, but the hard core was still trying to engage the police.

Holly kept up her fire, stunning anyone coming near her. The LEP's defence was completely shattered now; what had begun as a battle between two defined sides was descending into utter chaos. The riot police were sucked into crowd as it surged forward, submerged in the melee.

Holly watched as the mayhem approached her. There was no order, not anymore. Only violence. She glanced behind her. The LEP reinforcements weren't as numerous as she had hoped. They had given up trying to launch more tear gas, instead raising their own neutrinos and trying to help subdue the remaining rioters.

Trying to decide whether to fall back or stay and continue to lay down fire, Holly turned back to the crowd, and was surprised to find a fist flying towards her at alarming speed. Unable to react in time, she staggered back as the blow slammed into her helmet. Before the attacker could follow up, she sent a neutrino blast straight into his stomach. He crumpled, unconscious, but already there were three more protesters on her, grabbing her and throwing her to the ground.

She tried desperately to get her neutrino up to retaliate, but one of them stamped down on her arm and kicked the weapon from her grasp. She responded in kind, lashing out with both feet. The attacker doubled up in pain, clutching his stomach and muttering a string of curses under his breath. One of his friends tried to capitalize on her preoccupation, but she rolled away from the blow, nimbly jumping back to her feet.

Her hand strayed to her belt, grabbing her buzz baton and giving it an experimental twirl. Or at least, it would have done if it had found anything other than air. The third attacker gave a nasty smile, raising the baton.

"Missing something, officer?" he spat, advancing on her. Thanks to the toxins all around them, his eyes were red and puffy and half dry tears streaked his cheeks. He didn't look like he was in a very good mood. Holly supposed that tear gas tended to have that effect on people. She was suddenly very grateful for the protection granted to her by her helmet.

Around them, the riot was dissolving. The riot police had mostly gone down, but the majority of the insurgents had either already fled the tear gas or now lay unconscious or injured. The clouds of tears gas were spreading out now, affecting everyone that wasn't wearing a gas mask. Some of those remaining were trying to engage to the rest of the LEP in what could only be described as a losing battle, but most were just trying to get away.

One of the Holly's would be attackers erupted in a fit of coughs, eyes streaming. He staggered, tripping over an unconscious gnome, leaving only the one with Holly's buzz baton. She could see his obvious discomfort as the toxins attacked his senses, but he kept coming towards her. Holly tried to back up, but he suddenly lunged forward, slamming the baton into her thigh and discharging a casual ten thousand volts.

LEP suits were designed to dissipate energy weapons like the buzz baton, but, unbeknownst to her, Holly's thermal regulation system had been damaged when she had been hurled to the ground. Her suit successfully absorbed the charge, but the energy raised the temperature of the suit itself by several hundred degrees.

Holly screamed. Her skin was already burning. The attacker grabbed her helmet, gloves protecting his hands from the scorching heat.

"Police bitch," he snarled, eyes blazing with hatred. "Let's see how you like it."

He tore the helmet from her head, adding a vicious punch for good measure, knocking her to the ground. Apparently satisfied, he laughed and turned to run. Holly lay there breathing heavily, magic already targeting her injuries, starting to dull the pain from the burns. The smoke of tear gas billowed around her.

It took a few moments for the effects to kick in. It started like an itch in her eyes and nose, but it grew in intensity until her whole face felt it was on fire. She cried out, but the pain only continued to worsen. She tried to close her eyes, to shield them, but it was too late. Her nerves screamed at her as though under attack by a million tiny needles, viciously attacking her skin.

She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. She tried to get up, stumbling clumsily, but tripped, eyes blinded by the toxins. Her throat burned. She tried to call for help, but the words came out as a hacking cough. Again, she pulled herself to her feet, staggering away, trying to navigate the sea of unconscious fairies. There was no room in her head for rational thought. All she wanted to do was get away from this hell.

She felt a steadying hand on her arm, but she couldn't see who is belonged to. Her whole world was hazy, unfocused. She was vaguely aware of words, trying to make themselves heard over the high-pitched whine in her ears.

"Captain Short…"

 _Captain. The rank was familiar. Her rank? And the name. Short. Her name. Holly Short._

"Come on, Captain."

Holly allowed herself to be lead, trying to organise her thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity of stumbling blindly away from the chaos, her guide sat her down. She no longer felt as though she was under attack, but her face still burned. Tentatively, she cracked open an eye. Her vision was still blurry, but she could just about see. An LEP elf she didn't recognize was looking concernedly at her.

"Thanks," she muttered, pleased to discover that she could speak again, but unable to summon the energy to do much else.

"It'll hurt for a few minutes, but it'll get better. Magic should accelerate the process. A medical team should be here soon. The warlocks will fix up anything you can't."

Holly nodded absently, enjoying being able to breathe clean air. She watched as the elf turned to head back to the scene of the riot, no doubt looking for any other injured fairies he could help.

It was hard to stop the feeling of foreboding that was building up in her gut as she looked at the destruction left behind. Buildings burned; unconscious and injured fairies littered the street. She could almost taste the hostility in the air. One thing was for certain: things were going to get worse before they got better.

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Holly. I just don't seem to be able to stop hurting her. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a huge amount of fun writing the Artemis sections, especially all the little references to his normal self, even though he doesn't remember anything. Don't worry, it won't take too long for him to be reunited with Holly. Then he's just got to get his memory back, then A/H can happen! Still, that's all easier said than done. And as mentioned previously, we start getting into the main plotline next chapter, of which Opal is an integral part (sorry, but as explained last chapter, she can't really be avoided).

You know what I'm going to ask, don't you? ;)

Please review! I always enjoy reading your comments. I'll try to respond, but even if I don't (either because I don't get a chance, you review as a guest so I can't or simply because I can't think of anything interesting to respond with), I still really appreciate the support.

-Kio


	3. Ancient

**A/N:** Thank you all for your continued support! It means a great deal to me :)

* * *

 **Chapter 3; Ancient**

 **The Himalayas, Tibet**

Opal Koboi could feel the excitement building deep within her. Her time was close at hand; she could sense it. Soon, she would be able to avenge herself. She could still taste the bitterness of defeat at the hands of Artemis Fowl. The humiliation of months in hiding. But it would be different this time. She would have an army the likes of which had never been seen at her shoulder. Fowl would be made to pay for the indignity he had caused her.

She ignored the doubts that niggled at her mind. It was true that her past experiments had yielded mixed results, and that she had never quite succeeded in achieving her aims, but she was confident that this time, she would uncover the secret. This time, she would have the relic to help her.

The pixie strode purposefully through the mountain caves, a pulsating sphere of magic hovering by her shoulder, lighting her way. The web of narrow tunnels should have been impossible to navigate, but Opal negotiated the labyrinth with ease, her way guided by months of arduous research.

It didn't take long to reach the final chamber. There was no obvious indication that it was anything other than a dead end aside from the pedestal that stood in the centre of the cavern, unmarked and unimpressive.

A smile of anticipation began for form on Opal's porcelain features. Suddenly nervous, she stepped forward. The altar rested on a stout column of rough stone, long faded runes etched into its base. The top surface was completely smooth, the stonework unblemished but for the barest outline of a hand.

 _I was wrong to ever doubt myself,_ she thought, transfixed by the seemingly unremarkable pedestal before her. _I should have always had faith that I would be able to find it._

The pixie raised a slightly trembling hand and placed it on the altar, taking great care to lay it within the marked outline. She felt the magic at once, probing her, testing her. Closing her eyes, she let her own magic respond, interfacing with the ancient lock, commanding it to grant her access.

Opal opened her eyes, raising them to look towards the far side of the cave, reading the spiral of Old-Gnomish characters carved roughly into the rock. Barely visible after countless millennia of neglect, it took her a moment to decipher the warning.

 _-Beware the wrath of the Fallen-_

All but forgotten, the ancient lock had remained untouched for untold thousands of years, entombing the darkness, sealing it off from the living world. Now, on the command of Opal Koboi, it began to open. Solid rock melted away before her very eyes, revealing a passage that descended deep beneath the mountains.

Opal couldn't help but smile. She was about to walk a path untrodden for an age.

 _Soon,_ she told herself. _Soon, you will be unstoppable._

* * *

 **Nice, France**

The boy found that he felt a lot better after some sleep and some food. He was extraordinarily grateful for the money he had been given and, determined not to squander it, had spent several long hours the previous evening working out the cheapest possible place to stay the night. He had been willing to spend a little more on the food, but not much, finding a cheap bakery the next morning and picking up a couple of fresh croissants. All things considered, it hadn't been a bad breakfast.

He had reached the conclusion that the number on the note he had found truly was his only chance to find out who he was, and decided to dedicate all his energy to investigating it.

But even though his mood was greatly improved compared to yesterday, there were still a few things that were bothering the boy. It was difficult not to feel a little uncertain after waking up with no memories, but this was more than that. There was real fear in him. Fear that if he couldn't find the answers he sought, he would be forever isolated, unable to belong. Alone. Perhaps once upon a time the thought would not have bothered him, but now it scared him. A lot.

 _After all,_ he reflected, _forever is a long time. I have no wish to spend it on my own._

Then there was still that niggling feeling in the back of mind that he couldn't quite describe. He had hoped it was something to do with his recent awakening and that it would diminish in time, but it didn't seem keen on leaving. If anything, the sensation had grown stronger overnight. The feeling of not being alone in his head. The suggestion of another consciousness, another mind inside his, biding its time. Waiting.

It was undoubtedly sinister, and the boy couldn't help stop it from unsettling him a little. It wasn't natural, he knew that much. But even though it unnerved him, it didn't seem like there was much he could do about it.

 _Perhaps, if I get my memories back, it will disappear. Or perhaps, if I can find them, someone from my past will be able to shed some light on it._

Deciding that there was nothing to be achieved wasting time thinking about it, the boy set off to buy a phone. He wanted to try calling the number. He knew he could use a pay-phone, but he thought that it would be better to call from a phone he actually owned. And even if it wasn't a phone number, it would still be useful to have a phone.

He ended up doing exactly as the man who had helped him had suggested and buying a cheap pay-as-you-go phone. The thing was obviously low quality – he hadn't expected anything else for fifteen euros – but presumably it would work, and that was all he needed.

The boy stood outside the gadget shop, a chilling winter wind blowing his overgrown hair, staring with uncertainty at the lump of plastic clutched in his hand. He glanced at the note in his other hand. What was going to happen? Anything? He didn't even know if it was a phone number, much less that it would mean anything to him if he called it.

 _Nothing ventured, nothing gained._

He shrugged, gingerly tapping the digits into the keypad and raising the handset to his ear. He let it ring.

No-one picked up. There was a burst of static, followed by a pre-recorded message asking the caller to leave a voicemail. The boy listened carefully to the voice, trying to find something familiar in the words, but he couldn't. He did, however, recognize the speaker's accent. Irish. And she was speaking English. He recalled the words of the man who had helped him yesterday. _Your accent, it sounds Irish._ He supposed it was promising that she sounded like she was from the same country as he was.

But there was a far more interesting piece of information in the recording. The woman gave the name of the household to which the phone belonged.

Fowl Manor. It didn't immediately mean anything to him, but it was knowledge that he hadn't had a moment ago. And knowledge was power.

It took the boy a moment to realize that the phone was still waiting for him to leave a message. He was about to hang up, but something stopped him. A sudden urge to speak.

 _What would I even say? I don't even have a name to give, or anything to ask about…_

After a pause, he simply said the first thing he could think of.

"Hi, err, it's me. If you could call me back whenever is convenient for you, that would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your time."

A strange message to be sure, but hopefully the receiver would do as he asked and call him back. If they didn't recognize him they might assume it was a wrong number and ignore it, but that wouldn't be a huge loss. And if they _did_ recognize him, they would be able to give him some answers.

The boy thought back to the name of house. Fowl Manor. He didn't have any way to know the significance of it, if any existed at all, but while he waited for his call to be returned, it was at least somewhere start. He smiled, and set off for Nice's city library. Libraries, he knew, had computers, and they in turn had access to the internet. And the internet had information. Lots of information. Hopefully, lots of very useful information.

It wasn't a particularly long walk to the library. As soon as he was across the threshold, the boy made his way to an unoccupied computer, launching an internet entered _Fowl Manor_ into the search bar and tapped the confirm key, shrugging to himself. It was as good a place to start as anywhere.

It turned out to be a very good place to start. A string of results popped up in the screen; news articles, images, even a Wikipedia page. He clicked a news article at random. It was about a rich Irish businessman called Artemis Fowl who had been discovered outside a hospital in Helsinki with a leg missing after spending almost two years in a coma and being declared legally dead. He wondered if Fowl Manor was the man's home.

 _Artemis Fowl._

The name itself meant nothing to him, but there was a picture attached to the article. It might have been a coincidence but, recalling his reflection in the water, he couldn't help noticing a passing resemblance between himself and this Artemis Fowl. The man was far older than him, true, but there was a distinct similarity between the two of them.

Excited, he carried on reading articles. It didn't take long to uncover some of the Fowl family's history. Apparently, they were suspected of significant criminal activity, but nothing had ever stuck. Now, they claimed they were on the straight and narrow, but the boy had to admit he was cynical. From what he had read, it seemed the family had been extraordinarily successful in their ventures on the other side of the law, and had managed to remain unpunished. Why give that up?

He had also discovered that, as he had rather expected, Fowl Manor was indeed the residence of the Fowl family. Artemis had a wife, Angeline, and a son, too. Artemis Junior. But despite his best efforts, he could barely find any information on the son. What little information was available only further confused him.

According to a piece published by a small, local paper, Artemis had supposedly disappeared for three years, only to return as though nothing had happened, seemingly having not aged a day. There were also references to some kind of behavioural problems. And now he had apparently disappeared again, about a month ago. There was the odd image here and there, but nothing much. In spite of his youth, Artemis Jr. had an undeniably sinister appearance. Eyes devoid of emotion, Artemis's cold arrogance was palpable, even in a photo. The boy couldn't help but be reminded of a vampire.

There was one thing that every picture of a Fowl he could find had in common. They all reminded him strangely of the face he had seen in the lake after he had awoken. The eyes, in particular. The Fowls all had the same piercing blue eyes. The boy had seen one of those eyes staring back at him from the still water of the lake surface.

 _Perhaps I am a relative of the Fowl family._

He supposed it was possible. It would certainly explain why he seemed to be able to find a piece of himself in all their photos, though why he had a hazel eye as well one of coldest ice was anyone's guess. It would go a certain way to explaining the note as well, if Fowl Manor was some kind of family home of his.

But if that was the case, surely he would be able to find some reference to himself in the news stories covering the Fowls? He checked again, just to make sure, but there still wasn't a picture of anyone that looked much like him. Sure, he bore a passing resemblance to the father, but the man was clearly much older than him. The face he had seen in the lake was dirty and unkempt, obscured by a tangled mess of overgrown hair and with strange two coloured eyes. It was a stark contrast to the super rich Fowls, who seemed to be impeccably groomed in every photo he could find.

Something occurred to him then. He thought back to when he had first become aware that he was conscious. That he was alive. He had been in surprisingly high spirits – something to do with a dream he had been having – and had been trying to remember the reason why. Trying to focus on the memory of the dream as it slipped away. All he had managed to recall was a single word, a word that had comforted him at the time.

The boy tried to focus. The word. What was it? It was there, he was sure of it. He found his hand straying unconsciously to the mysterious coin in his pocket.

 _Holly. That was it. Holly._

He didn't know what that it was supposed to mean. Was it a name? Someone close to him? On the computer, he entered a new search.

 _No results for "Holly Fowl"._

The boy shrugged. It had been worth a try.

He went back to the information about the Fowls. In the end, he realized, it didn't matter if he was a distant relative or not. Trying to get in touch with them was still his only real option. The Fowls might seem strange, they might have a nefarious past, but if there was a chance they could give him some answers, it was more than worth the risk.

* * *

 **Beneath the Himalayas, Tibet**

Opal had scarcely been able to believe her luck. The relic had provided everything she had needed and more. She hadn't even dared to dream that she would be so fortunate. Her experiments were already progressing faster than she could ever have hoped.

 _It is only a matter of time,_ she thought to herself. _I have everything I need down here; no-one knows what I am doing, so no-one will try to stop me. It doesn't matter how long it takes, eventually I will uncover the secret. Then, I will finally be able to free my future self and return to my own time._

During her youth, Opal had spent decades trying to discover the secret she now so desperately sought. The experiments had been so twisted that even she had sometimes struggled to stomach them. And though she had made progress, it had been slow and difficult. Even after all those years, the secret had still eluded her. She had begun to believe that perhaps she had been mistaken, perhaps what she wanted wasn't possible after all.

The pixie couldn't stop her thoughts turning to the time she had spent pursuing her aims in Russia, in the New Dawn laboratories. She'd still had people working for her back then, other scientists. The climate hadn't been to her taste, but the location had been ideal. Russian officials weren't famed for asking difficult questions once they had been given a little incentive, and no-one batted an eye when people went missing. Opal had had all the test subjects she had ever wanted.

And yet she still hadn't been able to work out how to achieve what she wanted. Some of the subjects had been promising, but others had been unsuccessful. One in particular. She could still remember the fight in the Russian girl's eyes as she had looked up at her from the operating table as the pixie ordered her death. She wondered if the girl had actually ended up starving; the fire had broken out only a few days after she had been locked in her cell.

It was that fire that had been the final straw. Everything had been destroyed. All her research gone, all her scientists dead, all her successful subjects burned alive in their cells. Unwilling to start again from scratch, on her own, Opal had focused all her efforts on her other project: her magic boosting formula. Of course, that had proved far more fruitful – she had been _this_ close to being able to manipulate time itself.

But then Artemis Fowl had taken her lemur. It was surely deep underground now, along with her only chance of returning to her own time on her own terms. And so the pixie had returned to her original research, except this time she had had an advantage. An idea. She had uncovered the location of the relic, hopeful that it would provide the answers that she sought.

Opal Koboi had not been disappointed.

She regarded the human strapped to the operating table in front of her. She didn't know its name, nor did she want to. It was merely a vessel. One of the mountain people, she supposed. Of course, it had begged her to leave it be when she had taken it. Screamed and pleaded for mercy. She sighed at the memory. She hated it when they did that.

Now, it lay silent, deathly pale and barely alive. Paralysed by the toxins already pumped into its system, waiting to serve Opal's twisted curiosity. The pixie raised the needle and pressed the tip into the human's arm. The slightly luminous green liquid seemed almost to claw at the confines of the syringe as it was injected into the dying cells.

Opal looked on, eyes bright with anticipation. She doubted much would happen – after all, this was only her first attempt – but it was hard to ignore the excitement building inside her. She had been trapped in this time less than a year, and already she was closer than ever to uncovering the secret that had eluded her for so long.

A minute passed. Then another. Opal was beginning to grow disappointed as she watched the human lying still. It was almost peaceful. There was no movement, no visible sign of cell alteration, not even around the point of injection.

 _No matter_ , she told herself, already looking away, preparing to make the necessary alterations for the next subject. _This was only a first attempt. I have all the time in the world to refine my calculations._

But then she looked again at her first subject, and realised that she was wrong; the experiment was a success after all. Very little would need to be refined.

On the operating table before her, the human was opening its eyes, baring its teeth. A low, animalistic growl slipped from its lips.

* * *

 **Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Exactly as Foaly had predicted, Holly completely ignored K'Azir's orders to take a day off and showed up to Police Plaza the day after the riot regardless.

"I'm more than capable of working, Foaly," she insisted as the centaur blocked the entrance to her office.

"You were in a riot! You were _tear gassed_!" he responded, refusing to back down. "Gods, Holly, you were in a bad way _before_ that. Please, be reasonable. You know you need rest!"

"I've had rest!" she shot back, trying to dodge past Foaly, but not quite managing it. "The warlocks addressed all my injuries after the riot, I'm fine now. Seriously. What I need is not to go back to bed, but to help my city. Which, in case you'd forgotten, feels like it's on the brink of collapse."

"K'Azir specifically instructed you not to come in. Holly, have you ever actually obeyed an order?"

The elf shrugged. "What can I say?" she smiled, a sliver of her old character shining through. "I'm a rebel. Now, get out of my way."

"Sorry Holly. No can do."

Holly slowly drew back a fist, a glint in her eye. "I'm warning you. You are currently wilfully obstructing an LEP officer…"

Foaly shrank back. "Caballine likes me _unbroken_ thank you very much. Please don't do anything rash."

Sighing, Holly lowered her fist. Of course, she hadn't actually been going to hit him, but she knew that the suggestion of physical discomfort would make the centaur get out of the way.

"Holly," continued Foaly. "I _will_ call K'Azir and drag him away from whatever important thing he is doing to come and make you go home. Look at me." He pointed to his face and adopted a stern expression. "This is my serious face. It means I'm serious. I will do it."

Holly turned away, not responding immediately. Foaly noticed her clenching her fists until the knuckles were white.

"Please," she said softly. "I don't want to go home."

The centaur stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Seeing Holly hurting like this was almost intolerable.

 _D'Arvit Mud Boy,_ he thought. _How could you do this to her? To all of us?_

"You don't have to go home if you don't want," he said gently. "But you can't carry on working yourself to death." He paused for a moment to think. "Go to the surface," he suggested. "I'll sort you a temporary visa. Go and enjoy some fresh air. Visit Butler and Juliet if you want. Just please, relax."

The elf nodded reluctantly. In truth, the idea of visiting the surface, of simply escaping everything down in Haven, held a certain appeal. And seeing Butler and Juliet would be an undeniable bonus.

Even so, there was a part of her that was genuinely worried that if she left for just a day, something would go horribly wrong in Haven. She tried to tell herself that this was illogical, but it was still there, niggling at her. Foaly wasn't wrong when he said that she had thrown herself into her work after Artemis's death. She had worked more missions than anyone else by some margin and had become intimately acquainted with the new and precarious situation that the People found themselves in. She had become one of the forces most formidable operators and her expertise had proved invaluable more than once.

 _It's just a day. You know Foaly's right. Go and see Juliet. You'll feel better._

"Alright," she told the centaur. "Get me a surface visa."

* * *

 **Ireland**

It was only as she soared over the Irish countryside, the wind in her hair, that Holly realized how isolated she had become over the last month. She remembered the last time she had visited the surface outside of a mission. She had been taking the exact route she was now, heading to the same place.

To Fowl Manor. She had been going to explain to Artemis's parents that their son was dead. Their reactions still stuck in her mind. How they seemed to deflate before her eyes. Broken by loss.

 _Artemis. How could you do that to them?_

Despite promising Juliet that she would come and check up on them all, especially Butler, she hadn't found time amongst the chaos underground.

She mentally scolded herself. _Artemis may be gone, but that doesn't mean I'm alone. I shouldn't push away my other friends._

The elf watched as rolling hills sped by below her. The land route and low altitude weren't exactly regulation, but Holly had never really been one for toeing the line. Breaking rules was always so much more fun than following them. She told herself it didn't matter – with her shield and shimmer suit, she was all but invisible to both the human and mechanical eye.

Manipulating her helmet's on-board computer with a complicated series of blinks and gestures, the elf sent a quick message to Juliet to let her know that she was on her way.

On the horizon, high stone walls rose out of the ground, marking the edge of the Fowl estate. Holly would once have seen them as imposing, sinister even, but now they were merely part of her friend's home. A late medieval castle stood atop the far hill, watching over the low-lying countryside that surrounded it on all sides. Fowl Manor still looked exactly as it did when she had been held prisoner there more than six years ago.

Holly entered a dive, accelerating hard, dropping out of the sky and landing lightly a few hundred meters away from the manor. Even though all the adults that lived there knew about the People, she still kept her shield up. She wasn't keen on having to explain her pointed ears to Artemis's brothers. Especially Myles. She had been told that he was just as inquisitive as his older brother had been.

She wondered briefly how the twins were coping. She doubted they were really old enough to understand what death was, but it would hurt when they realised that their brother wasn't coming home this time. That they would never see him again.

Holly spotted Juliet hanging around the entrance to the manor, squinting around as though she was expecting a fairy to sneak up on her…

The elf considered it, but in the end decided just to unshield and call to the human girl. Juliet's eyes locked onto her the moment she spoke.

"Alright, fairy girl?" she asked, attempting a smile. She didn't quite pull it off, and though she tried, she couldn't hide the tiredness in her eyes.

"Not so bad," replied Holly, knowing Juliet was fully aware that she was lying. "You look awful. How have you been sleeping?"

Juliet took one look at Holly and gave a bitter laugh. "About as well as you by the looks of things. How is everything in Haven?"

Holly shook her head. "Not good. But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to get away from it."

"That bad?"

She nodded, and gestured to the manor. "How are they?" she asked softly, avoiding making eye contact with Juliet.

The human girl shrugged. "How to you think?" she muttered angrily. "Broken. Haunted. They lost their son. That won't ever go away."

Holly didn't miss the slight note of accusation in Juliet's voice. It hurt.

"You know if I could change what happened, I would. I wish there had been a way to stop him."

Now it was Juliet's turn to look away. "I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault, and that you did everything you could. It's just…" she hesitated for a moment, uncertain. "It's like everyone expects me to be fine. My brother still won't accept that he's gone – he just spends all day in the dojo and doesn't talk to anyone – and Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are like shells of their former selves.

"It seems like it's just fallen to me to pick up the pieces. I have to look after the twins, I have to keep the household running. I don't even have time to grieve. I'm the only person that hasn't fallen apart, so now it's my responsibility to do everything." She wiped away an unwelcome tear. "I want to fall apart, honestly I do. But then what happens? Who looks after the twins?"

Holly nodded understandably. While she understood Juliet's pain – it was the same pain that she felt, after all – at least she didn't have to try and deal with the fallout of Artemis's death. Holly had only kept herself together this long by ignoring the pain and pretending it wasn't there.

There was a moment of silence as the two friends considered their respective positions. Holly was the one who broke it.

"I miss him."

Juliet looked at her. "We all do." She shook her head as though trying to clear it. "Come on," she said, gesturing towards the manor. "For once, Dom's actually outside the dojo. He'll be pleased to see you."

The elf allowed herself to be lead into the Fowls' ancestral home. In the hall, they passed a landline phone on a unit of drawers. A notification was flashing on the display.

 _New Messages._

Juliet sighed and reached out to swipe the handset, tapping a button to play the new recordings.

"Probably another one of Mrs. Fowl's cosmetologists or something," she muttered to Holly. "She hasn't been to any of them since… well, you know. Apparently they're concerned about the loss of business."

Holly wasn't really listening. She wasn't interested in whether Angeline was missing her beauty therapy appointments. She hadn't set foot in Fowl Manor since informing Artemis's parents of his death. She wasn't enjoying being back very much. Too many memories lingered in these halls.

Juliet frowned as the recording played several seconds of silence. She shook her head and was about to switch it off when the caller finally spoke.

"Hi, err, it's me."

 _Artemis's voice._

Holly was instantly alert. She turned sharply to Juliet. The human girl's frown was deepening.

"That sounds just like…" she started to mutter, but the recording was still going.

"If you could call me back whenever is convenient for you, that would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your time."

Holly and Juliet looked at each other in silence, as though neither quite trusted themselves to speak. Neither moved. A minute passed. It was Juliet that broke the stillness, making to call the number that had sent the message.

Holly caught her arm. "Hold on," she warned. "We don't know who's on the other end of that line."

"What?" exclaimed Juliet, starting at Holly, shock written all over her face. "You heard that, right? It was _him_!"

"It _sounded_ like him," Holly corrected. "How do we know it's genuine?"

Juliet's mouth dropped open. "What the Hell is wrong with you? That was him. He's alive. _Alive!_ Don't you want that?"

"Of course I do!" shouted Holly, a lot louder she had been intending. "But think about it. Seriously. It doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't?"

"This. Let's imagine for a moment that he's alive. What would he do? Wait a month and then leave his grieving family a voicemail?"

Juliet looked unsure. A part of her knew that Holly was right – it made no sense. But most of her was just desperate to cling to any hope there was.

"Come on," Holly continued. "The voice may have been his, but the words? Artemis doesn't speak like that. _Hi_ and _err_ aren't even words, and as for _"it's me, call me back"_? He doesn't leave a name; he doesn't ask for anything. It doesn't sound like he even knows who he was calling."

"So what's your explanation? It's an elaborate fake?" The look on Juliet's face made it clear exactly how cynical she was about that option.

"I don't know," Holly admitted. "I'm just saying that it doesn't add up. Why not say anything until now? And why act like nothing happened?" The elf shook her head, trying to figure it out. "Maybe it's a code. Maybe he survived, but some of Amber's people captured him."

Juliet's doubtful expression remained planted firmly on her face. "Really, Holly? Come on. It was him, you heard it. There has to be at least a chance he's alive. You want to give that up? To ignore it?"

To her surprise, Holly smiled, a glint in her eye. "Give it up?" she said. "I don't think so. I just said we should proceed with caution." She winked and raised her palm, indicating for Juliet to wait. With her other hand, she tapped a button on her wrist computer. "Foaly? I need a favour."

Deep below ground, the centaur put his head in his hands. "I'm not going to like this, am I? Please tell me it's at least legal."

The elf sounded wounded. "When have I ever overstepped the bounds of the law?"

"How long do you have? I have a list." Foaly sighed. "Actually, never mind. What are doing? Aren't you supposed to be relaxing?"

"Does the LEP still run surveillance on Fowl Manor?" asked Holly, ignoring the centaur's question.

"Not anymore. We pulled the last of it after Artemis left us."

"Can you hack into the manor's phone and trace a received call?"

"Can I?" Foaly spluttered, sounding offended. "Is that even a question? Of course I can. The question is, why would I?"

Holly sighed. She wasn't in the mood for Foaly's theatrics. "Just do it, OK? You'll understand when you do it. Trust me."

Recognising Holly's no-nonsense voice, the centaur tapped a few keys on his v-board and in a few moments he had access to Fowl Manor's landline. He listened to the message.

"OK," he breathed. "I understand." He paused to think, exhaling slowly. "The caller's location was somewhere in Nice, in France. I'll have something more specific soon. You can get there quickly from Ireland."

 _From Nice,_ thought Holly. _The South of France. Near the alps. Near where Artemis died._ It was promising.

"Send me the co-ordinates. I'll set off immediately."

"Holly…" Foaly didn't sound as sure. "Don't you think this is all a bit… odd? I mean Artemis disappears for a month, supposedly dead, and then sends _that_? It doesn't make much sense to me. It's the last thing Artemis would do."

"I know; I don't understand it either. But it's a chance – I have to go. I'll be careful."

"You? Careful?" Foaly didn't even try to hide his cynicism. "That's new."

Holly rolled her eyes, not bothering to dignify the centaur's words with a response. A set of co-ordinates flashed up on her visor's readout. She turned to Juliet.

"Listen," she began uncertainly, unsure exactly how to phrase what she wanted to say. "Your brother…"

"You don't want me to tell him about this?"

The elf nodded. "If I find something promising, I'll let you know. But this could turn out to be nothing. If we give Butler hope and then shatter it, he'll be even worse than before.

"D'Arvit," Juliet swore. She didn't like the idea of leaving her brother in the dark, but she knew Holly was right. There was no guarantee that Artemis was really alive. "I should come with you, though. Artemis needs a Butler."

Holly shook her head. "It'll be faster if I fly, and I'd rather not carry you in cam foil and risk you being seen. Trust me, if he's out there, I'll bring him home."

For the first time in recent times, she found herself giving a smile of genuine warmth. _There's a chance he's out there. Alive. And if he is, I'm going to bring him home._

For some reason, the notion that it would be _her_ that brought him home was especially pleasant.

The elf flicked the ignition for her wings and vibrated out of the visible spectrum.

"I'll be back before you know it," said a voice from thin air. Then she was gone, the faintest shimmer dancing through the halls of Fowl Manor as she soared towards her lost friend.

* * *

 **A/N:** _"No results for Holly_ _Fowl,"_ eh? Well, I suppose we'll have to do something about then, won't we? :P In All seriousness though, I had such a great time writing that bit with Artemis researching the Fowls without knowing that they were his family. I don't know, there was just something super funny/cute about it to me. Hope it felt plausible/in character for you guys.

And of course, Opal's now starting to get going with the sinister stuff (kudos if you can figure out where she is right now), but it's important to remember that this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sinister stuff. I mean, it _is_ one of my stories after all. There'll be no shortage of dark bits.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As usual, I would love it if you reviewed ;)


	4. Alive

**A/N:** I promised someone I would update twice this week, so I meant to get this up on Wednesday, then Thursday, then earlier today, and just sort of… didn't. Sorry Elisarah. But I'm still going to do my normal weekend update, so it'll technically still be two chapters this week :D

Writing this was a blast – there's some cute Arty and Holly moments (yes, they do meet in the chapter, apologies if you wanted more of a build-up, but they need to meet so the plot can happen) that were really fun to write. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy!

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 4; Alive**

 **Nice, France**

The boy paced back and forth, frustrated. The Fowls had still yet to return his call, and he had no way to know if they even would. For all he knew, they were on holiday and wouldn't return home for several weeks. Or perhaps, his strange message had simply been dismissed.

 _I need a plan,_ he thought. But much to his annoyance, no grand ideas were forthcoming. His only lead was in Ireland, separated from him by no small body of water. He couldn't fly there, not without ID. And though Ireland was technically part of the EU, it wasn't part of the Schengen Area and so he would need a passport to pass through immigration.

He shook his head. If he had a few thousand euros to spare and some connections, it wouldn't be difficult to pick up a false identity and waltz on over the English Channel to Fowl Manor. Unfortunately, since he had neither, he was stuck in France. Much as he hated to admit it, it appeared as though he was more or less reliant on the Fowls calling him back.

"D'Arvit," he said aloud. He wasn't sure what the word meant, or what language it was from, but it seemed appropriate.

* * *

"Foaly, I'm in position. I need a more specific location."

Holly Short surveyed the city of Nice as she hovered high above, waiting for a response from underground. She didn't have to wait long – Foaly was as keen as anyone to see Artemis alive again.

"The call itself was placed from a street," the centaur told her. "To be specific, from outside an electronics store. I tracked down the phone that made the call, and as it happens, it was purchased there shortly before the call. I think it's safe to say the caller isn't there anymore."

"So where are they?" asked Holly, not wanting to get side-tracked.

"That is a good question. The phone is a cheap model – extremely unsophisticated – that runs on credit. The Mud People call it pay-as-you-go. These days it's mostly used by criminals because they're disposable and difficult to track."

"I don't care about the details, Foaly. How is this relevant to me?"

The centaur stamped a hoof. "I'm getting there!" He sighed. He was so unappreciated. "It means it doesn't have the same in-built GPS like a smart phone would, and the Mud Police can't track its location if its off. It also makes this whole thing seem even more strange. Someone bought a disposable phone specifically to make that call. That's pretty suspicious."

Holly felt like she had been punched. "So you can't track the phone? We can't find Artemis?"

Foaly tutted. "I said the Mud Police couldn't. Someone with talent like mine could put together a pretty good approximation."

"D'Arvit, Foaly," said Holly, a threatening edge to her voice. "When I get back to Haven, I'm going to give you a scare of your own."

Miles beneath the Earth's crust, Foaly winced a little. "Alright," he muttered, sending Holly the phone's location. "I get the idea. No need to be so touchy."

A slow smile broke out over the elf's face as the address of a cheap hotel and a room number popped up on her heads-up display.

"I thought you said a _rough approximation_?"

Foaly shrugged in false modesty, even though Holly couldn't see him. "What can I say? I really am _very_ talented."

* * *

The boy was shaken from his thoughts by his door opening. He turned to berate the source of the interruption, but to his surprise, there was no one there. Immediately suspicious, he stepped out into the hallway, eyes scanning the narrow corridor.

It was completely abandoned. Now thoroughly confused, the boy shook his head and returned to his room, pulling the door closed behind him.

He glanced around his small room. There was no one else there, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone. And there was still that strange sensation, as though he was sharing his mind with another consciousness. He could feel is growing stronger.

The boy shut his eyes and took a steadying breath, trying to clear his head. When he opened them, he was no longer alone.

* * *

Holly Short stared at the human before her. It was Artemis. And he was undeniably alive. His clothing wasn't exactly what she was used to, and his face was difficult to make out beneath the mess of hair, but it was inarguably him. She slipped into the second-rate hotel room as the boy frowned at the door she had just opened. She watched as he stepped out into the hall and looked around, no doubt expecting to find a couple of prankster kids.

She kept her shield up until Artemis had closed the door to his room. She would have preferred to greet him immediately, to throw her arms around him and make sure he was real, but she couldn't afford to be seen by someone else in the building.

As if on cue, Artemis shook his head and shut his door, turning to face her.

 _I'm sure he's figured out a fairy is in here by now,_ thought Holly as she watched Artemis glance suspiciously around his room. She was about to unshield, but then she took a closer look at her human friend. He certainly didn't look like someone who was aware of her presence. He looked… confused. Uncertain.

Holly couldn't help but be reminded of how he had been while in the grips of Atlantis, during those times when he was _almost_ lucid, but not quite. The way his gaze never quite settled; the shadow behind his eyes. The doubt. The worry.

She watched as he squeezed his eyes tight shut and took a deep breath. She stared at him, still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was alive. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. Heart in her throat, she switched off her shield and puller off her helmet.

Artemis opened his eyes. Surprise registered immediately, but he recovered quickly, hiding his shock with a hostile expression.

"Stay back, you don't know what you're dealing with."

 _Stay back, Mud Boy. You don't know what you're dealing with._ The first words she had ever spoken to him.

"Artemis?" she asked tentatively, just about managing to keep her voice steady.

"You aren't human," the boy before her observed, eyes narrowing distrustfully. "Your ears. They're pointed. And who's Artemis?"

Holly stared at him. The guarded boy before her much more closely resembled Artemis as he had been when she had first met him than the person he had developed into.

"Interesting," he continued. "You seem surprised. Am I to assume that I am supposed to know who Artemis is?" He paused to think for a moment, recalling back to his trip to the library. "Is this something about that Fowl man?" he asked carefully, as though he didn't want to give away too much information to the strange creature staring at him.

Holly still didn't trust herself to speak. She just carried on staring at the human friend, eyes wide with concern. Artemis frowned and shook his head.

"This is absurd," he muttered. "You're a fairy. Fairies don't exist. This can't be real."

Having her existence questioned was the last straw for Holly. She stepped forward, finally finding her voice.

"You… you don't remember me?"

The troubled boy took a step back, as though afraid of Holly's words. Afraid of the stranger knowing that he could not remember who he was.

"Remember?" His brow creased, as though he was concentrating on trying to solve a particularly difficult problem. Trying to reconcile his distrust of the fairy before him with the prospect that maybe, as strange as she seemed to be, this was someone from his previous life. His desire not to be alone any longer ended up overcoming his doubts.

When he spoke again, his voice was so soft Holly could scarcely hear it.

"Are you… are you my friend?"

The elf smiled, unaware of the tears starting to leak from her eyes. In a single swift movement, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms him.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm your friend." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I missed you."

Unsure how to react to the spontaneous hug, Artemis hesitated for a moment, but then rather awkwardly returned the gesture. Once the elf broke away, he looked at her uncertainly, as though trying to decide what he thought of her.

"I'm sorry," he said eventually. "I'm afraid I don't remember you. What's your name?"

"Holly," answered the elf warmly, still smiling uncontrollably. She shook her head. "I still can't believe you're alive."

"Holly?" The boy frowned. "Interesting…"

"Why?" Holly asked, confusion giving way to excitement in her voice. "Does that mean something to you?"

"Yes, actually." He regarded for a moment, weighing up his options. Deciding whether or not to trust her. Eventually, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a fairy coin on a leather necklace. "I found this in my pocket. I don't know what it is, but it feels important to me." He held it out to her. "Can you tell me anything about it?"

Holly felt her breath catch in her throat. It was the coin that she had given Artemis all those years ago as a reminder of the first good thing he had done. A symbol of the start of their friendship. She wasn't sure how he still had it when he seemed to have lost all his other possessions, but she was touched that despite not remembering her or the coin's significance, he still felt that it was important to him.

The elf reached out a hand and Artemis dropped the necklace into her palm. She turned over the coin in her fingers distractedly, briefly lost in her own memories.

"I gave it you," she said eventually. "It was a gift."

"Why?"

Holly smiled. Artemis seemed as inquisitive as always. "You saved my trigger finger," she explained. "And my career in the process."

"I see," replied Artemis, even though he didn't. "And tell me; how exactly does one _save_ a finger?"

Holly chuckled at his puzzled expression. "It's a long story."

"I don't have any plans."

"Fine," she sighed, fully aware that the explanation she was about to give would only further confuse him. "My finger was cut off by a door on a train." She raised the finger in question and pulled off her glove, showing Artemis the faint scar at its base. "You reattached it."

Artemis raised a cynical eyebrow. "I… _reattached_ it? Care to elaborate on that?"

Holly laughed again. "I suppose I should start at the beginning." She sat down on the bed and composed herself, gesturing for Artemis to join her. Reluctantly, he sat down next to her and waited for her explain who he was.

Holly tapped out a quick message to Foaly on her wrist computer before turning to Artemis. She cleared her throat and began her story.

"It all started in Ho Chi Minh City one summer. It was sweltering by anyone's standards. Needless to say, Artemis Fowl would not have been willing to put up with such discomfort if something extremely important had not been at stake. Important to the plan.…"

* * *

 **Police Plaza, Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Foaly could scarcely believe it as he read and reread the message that had just popped up on his screen.

 _Found Artemis. He's alive and unharmed, but I don't think he remembers anything. Will deliver him back to Fowl Manor later. Thanks for the help._

A smile spread across the centaur's face. It was true that he and Artemis's relationship had largely consisted of arguing, name-calling, and hacking each other's sensitive data, but they had nonetheless been good friends, with a mutual respect that both would have refused to admit was there. Centaurs didn't make many friends, and Foaly had struggled to come to terms with losing one of the few he had.

But now Artemis was alive. How that was the case he had no idea, but he expected they would find out soon enough. The smug little Mud Boy could go back to helping them saving the world, and Holly could go back to her usual self. In fact, now that he thought about it, Artemis would probably be able to shed some light on how to deal with increasingly volatile situation below ground.

 _He can't help if he doesn't remember us,_ his pessimistic side couldn't help pointing out.

 _He'll get his memories back_ , his other side insisted. _I'm sure he will. As soon as we know why he lost them, we'll be able to help._

He nodded absently to himself. Yes, they would be able to help. Soon enough, the Artemis of old would be returned to them. He found himself smiling unconsciously again.

"Foaly!"

The shout came from directly behind him. The centaur turned to see Commander K'Azir striding purposefully towards.

"Commander," he said, wiping the smile of his face. He noticed that K'Azir's cheeks were currently a wonderful shade of purple. "Is there a problem?"

"A problem? You're damn right there's a problem. I've sent you three alerts. What in Frond's name are you playing at?"

 _Oops,_ thought Foaly. He'd disabled messages and alerts so he could focus on helping Holly locate Artemis. An oversight, perhaps, now that he thought about it..

"Sorry sir," he said hurriedly. "I must have missed them. What's the situation?"

K'Azir's face was grim. "Koboi."

* * *

 **Nice, France**

The boy was slightly overwhelmed. The story he had just been told was exceptional to say the least. And what's more, according to the elf sat next to him, he had been involved in the extraordinary adventures she had described.

Holly was watching him intently, trying to gauge his reaction. "Artemis?" she asked tentatively once it became clear that the human wasn't planning on saying anything any time soon. "Are you OK?"

 _Artemis. My name. Apparently._ He wasn't sure how far he trusted Holly's claims, but he didn't see what she would have to gain from lying to him.

He nodded weakly and looked more closely at Holly. "Your eyes," he said. "They are dichromatic. A mirror of mine. Why?"

The elf smiled at the memory. "The time tunnel," she explained. "When we got back from Hybras, we had switched. Don't ask me how," she added quickly. "I don't understand all the intricate working of interdimensional travel."

"Hybras. That is the demon island, is it not?" Holly nodded. Artemis thought for a moment. "I would presume that data can be become mixed or corrupted in small ways as the body is disassembled and reassembled." He raised one of his hands and flexed his first two finger experimentally. "Perhaps that explains why my middle and index appear to be reversed."

Holly bit her lip. "So you're just… accepting this? No cynicism?"

Artemis's expression lost its playful curiosity. "Hardly, Captain Short. I do not make a habit of blindly trusting people, especially those I did not previously believe existed. However, your seemingly ludicrous story does fit the limited information I have."

Holly frowned. "What information? I thought you couldn't remember anything."

Artemis shifted ever so slightly. Holly recognized the position he adopted when he was about to deliver a lecture.

"Firstly, you give a convincing explanation of the coin and its apparent sentimental value to me. Secondly, I had deduced that I was likely connected to the Fowls, and happen to know that I bear a passing resemblance to the males in the family. It is not inconceivable that I could be related. And if I am indeed Artemis Jr., my month-long absence would explain my overgrown hair and beard." He paused to glance down at his _Avenged Sevenfold_ t-shirt distastefully. "Even if the clothes remain a mystery."

Holly tried to keep a straight face. She failed. "I don't know Mud Boy," she giggled. "I think it suits you."

Artemis scowled. "I would far rather be wearing a suit," he muttered.

Holly relented. Maybe she was going soft, but she couldn't deny how glad she was to see Artemis alive.

"I'm just messing, Mud Boy," she said, lightly punching him on the shoulder. "So you really don't remember anything? Nothing I've told you seems familiar?"

The closed his eyes, a look of concentration forming on his face. "I don't think so. But there is one thing. Your name."

"My name?" Holly frowned. "What about it?"

"When I first regained consciousness yesterday, I couldn't remember anything apart from a dream I was having. I suspect that what I interpreted at the time as a dream was actually residual memories."

"What do you remember from it?" asked Holly, leaning forward excitedly.

Artemis shrugged. "Very little. I recall being in a very good mood when I awoke, and eventually attributed it to something from the dream. All that came to mind was a single word. Holly. I didn't understand what it meant, but I suppose I was remembering your name. As such, I am somewhat more inclined to trust you than a true stranger."

Holly kept her face even, but she couldn't stop her heart from fluttering. Whatever had taken his memories had been unable to entirely erase his memories of her. The thought was comforting.

"You don't remember anything else?" she said.

"Not a great deal." Artemis thought for a moment. "I remember there was a girl. With two swords. She was very pretty, but she was violent. I was afraid of her."

Holly's expression darkened considerably. "Natalya," she spat. "Amber's accomplice." Her mood soured as her thoughts inevitably turned to her memories of the brutal Russian assassin. The pain she had suffered at her hands was still fresh in her mind. And she certainly didn't appreciate hearing Artemis calling her _pretty_. OK, maybe it was true, but that didn't mean she liked him noticing.

"Ah yes. From what you told me, she doesn't sound very nice."

Holly gave a sardonic laugh. "That's an understatement. So all you remembered was my name and Natalya?"

It took the boy a moment to respond. When he did, his voice was soft. "I remember suffering. I was in pain. All the time. Like my mind was broken. Atlantis?"

Holly nodded sympathetically. She couldn't imagine how painful the mental illness must have been for him. It had been bad enough for her and Butler.

"I should get you back to Fowl Manor," she said, keen to move the conversation in another direction. "Your family will be thrilled to hear you're alive. Butler and Juliet, too."

"My family," said Artemis absently. "Yes. They are grieving for their son I presume?"

"Obviously."

"And you say that my apparent death was my own choice?" Guilt flashed across Artemis's features. "What have I done to my parents…?"

Holly's eyes hardened. Since seeing him alive, she had been too busy being relieved to feel angry at him, but that didn't mean she had forgotten the pain he had caused her. It didn't mean she had forgiven him for it, either.

"They aren't the only people you hurt," she said, her voice harsher than she had intended.

Artemis tensed. She could see that he was surprised by the hostility in her tone. He didn't look like he knew what to say.

Holly took a steadying breath. _He did what he felt he had to do to stop Amber. To save his family. To save the world. Don't take your grief out on him. He doesn't even remember doing it._ She let out the breath and pushed all the anger and residual grief to one side to be dealt with later.

"Forget about it," she muttered, standing up and retrieving her helmet. "We should go. It shouldn't take long to carry you to Ireland."

Artemis's eyebrows shot up. "Carry me? To _Ireland_?"

"That's right, Mud Boy," replied Holly, pointing to the mechanical wings built into her LEP suit and pulling out a sheet of cam foil. She winked. "I hope you didn't eat anything recently."

* * *

 **Police Plaza, Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Foaly trotted nervously after K'Azir towards the Situations booth as the commander gave him a quick summary of their current predicament.

"Opal Koboi from eight years ago, LEP codename Nexus, has completely evaded detection by the LEP since she initially escaped capture upon arrival into this time," K'Azir began. "But that finally changed about ten minutes ago; Koboi herself contacted us via a satellite link.

"She says she wants to offer us a deal, but she's refusing to talk to anyone apart from the commander of the LEP. I wanted to wait until you were there to begin negotiations. Since she's something of an expert on Koboi, I would have preferred to wait for Captain Short, but since she's on the surface, we'll have to proceed without her. I don't want to delay too long."

Foaly frowned. "Wait a minute. Opal initiated contact? Why?"

"We don't know. At the moment, we're completely in the dark." K'Azir shrugged. "Maybe she really does want to offer us a deal. It can't hurt to hear her out. At the very least we'll find out something about what she's up to."

"Can't we just trace the signal and arrest her?" asked Foaly as they reached the Situations booth.

K'Azir gave another shrug. "I was rather hoping you could do just that," he said. "But your technicians aren't making much process." K'Azir pushed open the door and made his way through the small crowd of LEP personnel. A technician rushed up to him.

"Sir," she said, gesturing to a console in the middle of the room. Live pictures of Opal Koboi were being broadcast all around the room. She looked bored. "You're online with Nexus. We're sending her audio only; no visuals."

K'Azir nodded and dismissed her, walking to the indicated console and activating the microphone with a wave of his hand.

"Commander K'Azir of the LEP speaking."

On the various screens, Opal's eyes lit up, her boredom already forgotten.

"Commander!" she squealed delightedly. "I'm _so_ glad you could make it. Congratulations on the promotion, by the way."

K'Azir grunted. "What do you want, Koboi?"

"Patience, Commander. I want to talk to you."

"Why?"

Opal smiled and leaned into the camera. "I have a proposal for you. An offer I believe to be mutually beneficial."

K'Azir didn't have time for the crazed pixie's games. "Explain."

"A trade. One Opal Koboi for another. If you release my future self, I will surrender myself."

"What the Hell kind of deal is that? How does that benefit either of us?"

Opal rolled her eyes. "Why do the slow ones always fail upwards to the top of the LEP?" she muttered, but then composed herself. "Very well. I shall endeavour to explain using words that a simple mind such as yours can understand."

K'Azir growled into the mic, but Opal ignored him.

"As I'm sure you aware, I need to return to my own time. If I do not, the chances are it will eventually result in a time paradox and the entire timeline will collapse. I have read the reports about my future self's exploits, and it would seem evident that she was not operating with prior knowledge of her circumstances, and she no longer had access to the powers I have now. The logical conclusion – and one that I'm sure the more intelligent among your pathetic excuse for a police force will have already reached – is that, one way or another, I am captured, mindwiped and sent back in time."

K'Azir glanced at Foaly. The centaur nodded – that was exactly the conclusion he had reached.

"Alright, Opal," said the commander. "Say I agree with you. Why should we release the future you? You've just admitted that you'll eventually be captured anyway."

Opal fluttered her eyelashes. "Because, my dear K'Azir, you don't know what the cost will be."

K'Azir felt himself growing uneasy. This tended to be part of negotiations where the terrorists starting making threats. "Cost?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes," confirmed Opal. "The cost. While I recognise my need to return to my own time, I will not do so willingly while I know that my future ends in incarceration. So if you decline my offer, I will be left with no choice but to pursue alternative means of liberating my future."

K'Azir snorted. "And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Opal's eyes were hard. "I will focus all my efforts on destabilising the Lower Elements such that liberating my future self would become more feasible. Specifically by contributing as much as possible to the current climate of unrest that you have already managed to cultivate below ground – well done, by the way – and exposing the People to humanity."

K'Azir wore the grim face of a fairy who was slowly realising he was being outmanoeuvred. "I don't understand. How would that help you free yourself?"

Opal shrugged. "Even though the LEP would be massively weakened and I would gain allies in Haven, I will admit that chances of success are low. But I have calculated that the odds are better than with any other course of action, so if you refuse my terms, you will be leaving me with no choice. The cost will be _severe_. What I am offering you is a completely risk free way of removing any threat I pose once and for all."

K'Azir switched off the mic and turned to the LEP crowd. "Thoughts?"

"It's a trap," said several officers immediately. "We should just track her down and arrest her."

K'Azir looked in Foaly's direction. The technical consultant was still trying to get a fix on Opal's location. "Foaly? Any luck?"

The centaur shook his head. "She's bouncing the signal around the world a few thousand times before she's sending it to us. Give me a few hours and I might be able to trace the source, but I doubt she's stupid to let us delay her that long. Whatever this is, she's been planning it for a long time."

The commander nodded in agreement. "So what do we do?"

Foaly considered it. He had no doubt that Opal would find a way to carry out her threat, if only out of spite. But there was no way they could risk releasing the pixie's future self.

"Honestly? I don't know. We can't release present Opal, but we can't just let that maniac go on a rampage, especially if she might expose us to humanity. She's been biding her time since she arrived in our time, now she's making her move and she's got us by the balls. We _need_ to stop her."

There were a couple of cynical mutters among the LEP officers present. A few were loud enough to be audible, comments like _"Oh, all we need to do is stop her. Why didn't I think of that?"_ and _"Well that sounds like a nice and detailed plan. Real genius, donkey boy."_

Foaly whinnied indignantly at the officers before turning back to K'Azir. "I hate to say it sir, but this is the best lead on Nexus we've had since she was first came to our time with Holly and Artemis. It would be stupid not to capitalize on it."

K'Azir sighed. "I was worried you were going to say something like that. I was thinking the same thing. If she wants to make a trade, she'd have to be onsite. That would give us her location."

"Wait a minute… you want to actually accept her offer?" exclaimed a captain, surprise written all over his face. "Are you crazy? You can't trust Opal Koboi. She'll double-cross us!"

K'Azir gave a crooked smile. "Of course she will. That's why we double-cross her first." He switched the mic back on. "Alright, Opal. Give us your location. We'll release your future self as soon you're in custody."

Opal made a great show of laughing, as though K'Azir had said something incredibly funny. The commander waited patiently for the gales to subside. Once she had finished cackling, Opal narrowed her eyes.

"I think not, Commander," she said acidly. "Have you never overseen a prisoner exchange before? I will enter custody _as_ my future self is released." She leaned back as though surveying K'Azir, even though she was receiving no visual feed from Police Plaza. "Let us be entirely candid for a moment: I do not trust you, and you do not trust me. The exchange will take place when and where I see fit. I will contact you again in twenty-four hours. I hope, for the sake of the People, that you have an answer for me, and that that answer is yes."

K'Azir opened his mouth to object to the pixie's terms, but the link had already been terminated. He pointed a finger at Foaly.

"Get Captain Short back down here from the surface ASAP. I have a feeling this is going to get messy."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, there you have it. Opal's on the warpath. As much I got bored of her in canon, I have to admit, she's really fun to write. Maybe that's just because I'm twisted like her, I'm not sure.

Anyway, Artemis and Holly's reunion is obviously a pretty important moment (even if it wasn't their proper one where Arty has his memories) so I really hope I got it right. I tried to weave in some good TLG references (even lifting straight from it in a few places) since this and Winter of Decay are kind of designed as an alternative to TLG. Personally, I'm pretty pleased with how the scene turned out, but I'd love to know what you thought, so please feel free to leave any feedback you might have :)

-Kio


	5. Unfamiliar

**A/N:** Second update this week :D This chapter focuses on Arty and Holly. It's slightly shorter and fluffier than previous chapters, but I nevertheless hope you enjoy :)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 5; Unfamiliar**

 **Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Artemis did not enjoy his journey home. The elf, Holly Short, did not appear to be overly concerned with safety, and had flown from the South of France to Ireland at a breakneck pace with little regard for his personal comfort. Flying clipped onto someone's belt was a jarring experience at the best of times, but it was particularly unpleasant when Holly was the one at the helm.

He staggered away from her as soon he was unclipped, tearing the cam foil off his frame and throwing up in a nearby bush.

The elf seemed amused by his discomfort. "Classy," she said, pulling off her helmet and raising an eyebrow.

Artemis shook his head. "You," he said, pointing a slightly trembling finger at the fairy captain. "Are a danger to yourself and others. You should be institutionalised."

Holly laughed. "Nonsense. That was great fun."

"Fun does not equal safe," muttered the youth.

"Safe is only a point of view," Holly replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "And you coped much better last time we did that."

Artemis's face lost some of what little colour it had left. "I've done that before?"

Holly nodded. "After Arno Blunt shot Butler in London, I healed him and carried the two of you home on my belt."

"Arno Blunt," said Artemis, frowning. It was difficult keeping track of all the adventures he had supposedly taken part in. "Jon Spiro's bodyguard, right? After he stole my cube thing?"

Holly gave another nod, then chuckled. The human raised a questioning eyebrow. "You would have hated someone calling it a _cube thing_ ," she said by way of an explanation.

Artemis looked around. Now that he didn't feel quite so ill, he could take stock of his new surroundings. His eyes widened when they noticed the huge manor in the background.

"I live here?" he asked, trying and failing to hide his incredulity.

"Yep," replied the elf. "You used to be pretty rich."

"Used to be?"

Holly regarded him, an odd look expression on her face. There was tenderness in her eyes, but something else too.

He waited patiently for her to explain, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. She had given Artemis the condensed version of their adventures, with some details missing and some deliberate omissions. She hadn't gone into great detail about their most recent fight against Amber – those memories still hurt – and she had been careful not to mention the specifics of what had happened when they had travelled to the past, or the way Orion had felt about her. She'd neglected to mention their final conversation before his death as well.

"You gave it up," she said eventually. "To help defeat Amber. She demanded gold. You agreed so that we would have a chance to outmanoeuvre her."

"And it didn't work?"

Holly shook her head sadly, remembering the death of Trouble Kelp, her long-time friend and commander. "No, it didn't. We lost the gold, and some good officers."

Artemis looked put out. "So now I'm poor? All because I tried to help someone else and it went wrong?"

"Not poor," answered Holly, giving a him a punch on the shoulder that was a little harder than normal. "Just not rich anymore. And isn't helping someone else worth your personal wealth?"

Artemis didn't look convinced, but he didn't push it. It was mainly because his shoulder hurt really quite a lot. It didn't seem like provoking the elfin captain was a good idea.

"Can I meet my family then?" he asked, keen to change the subject and avoid further physical abuse.

Holly nodded and motioned for him to follow her. He was surprised when he realised they weren't headed for the manor.

"We're going to see Butler first," she explained upon seeing his confused expression. "I think he was closer to you than anyone, even your family. He refused to believe you were ever really dead. I suppose he was right in the end."

Holly led the boy to the front of the dojo. "Wait here," she instructed once they arrived. Leaving Artemis outside the entrance, she made her way into the old Japanese building, calling Butler's name.

"Holly?" came a gravelly reply from her left. "What are you doing here?"

She turned to smile at the giant manservant, but was instead struck by how old he looked. He seemed somehow… tired. As though everything he had been through was finally catching up with him. And there was the same emptiness in his eyes that had haunted Holly's until today.

"How's it going Big Man?" She would have hugged him, but he was twice her height and even if she could reach, there was no way her arms would have reached more than half way around his bulk. "There's someone here to see you."

Butler looked unconvinced. "You haven't been talking to Juliet, have you? Last week, she was insisting that I see a therapist." He shook his head in disdain. "Never again."

Holly rolled her eyes. "It's nothing like that," she told him. "Just trust me. You'll be pleased to see him."

Still visibly dubious, Butler accompanied the elf outside. He froze when he set eyes on the boy waiting for him.

"Artemis?" he whispered, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

The youth tried to give a reassuring smile, but his heart wasn't in it. Despite Holly's stories, he couldn't remember ever having seen this person before in his life. All he could think as he looked at the mountain of a man was that he was glad he wasn't an enemy.

All of a sudden, the bodyguard charged forward. Artemis gave a highly undignified little yelp and tried to step back, but Butler was already engulfing him in a crushing bear hug. Holly looked on with a smile on her face.

"Artemis," said Butler, his voice thick with emotion. "I was starting to think…" He shook his head. "No. I always knew you would have had a plan. Found a way to come back to us. I knew you wouldn't leave us all like that."

With difficulty, Artemis extricated himself from the bodyguard's embrace. "Of course," he said, trying to sound confident. "I would never do that."

"So you did you survive? Holly was sure that it wasn't possible."

Artemis shot a sideways glance at the elf, silently asking her to help. He had no idea how to answer that question.

Holly sighed, resigning herself to having to be the one to break the bad news.

"There was a complication." She looked Butler straight in the eye. "He can't remember anything."

"You… you don't recognize me?" asked Butler, turning sharply to face Artemis.

The boy gave a slightly guilty shrug. "Unfortunately not. If it makes you feel better, I can't remember Holly either. So it's not just you."

Butler shook his head. "That doesn't make me feel better at all. How did this happen?"

Artemis couldn't resist raising an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I can't remember."

Clearly not in the mood for Artemis's attitude, Butler addressed Holly instead. "How do we fix it?"

Now it was the elf's turn to shrug. "I don't know. I don't even know if it _can_ be fixed. I'll talk to Foaly. He might have some ideas."

Butler took a moment to think about it. "What are we going to tell his parents?"

"I don't know," Holly said. "The truth?"

It was clear that Butler wasn't entirely convinced by this suggestion. "Hmm," he said. "We'll figure something out, I suppose. They're away with the twins at the moment, but they'll be back in a few days. Does Juliet know he's alive?"

Holly shook her head. "I was going to tell her after you."

Butler grunted in acknowledgement and set off for the manor. Artemis looked at the bodyguard's retreating figure, trying to make up his mind what he thought of him. Meeting people for the first time and having them claim to be his good friends was disconcerting to say the least. And though he had no reason to doubt them, Artemis was a cynic by nature and they still felt like strangers to him. He was reluctant to simply trust Butler because he said that they used to be close.

Holly interrupted his thoughts. "Come on, Artemis," she said, gesturing in Butler's direction.

Artemis nodded and started trudging towards the manor. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, he was finding it much easier trusting Holly than Butler. It could be that he had only just met the manservant, but he didn't think so. There was something about the elf that made him feel as though he could trust her.

 _Maybe it is because I remembered her name,_ he wondered. _There is no way she could have known that I remembered the name Holly, and so it follows that she could not have lied about it to gain my trust. The only logical conclusion is that I had some kind of connection with her before I lost my memories._

Even so, just because they knew other before, didn't mean that he could believe everything she said. She said herself that he once kidnapped her. Perhaps this was all part of a convoluted plot for revenge.

 _That's absurd_ , he told himself. _You don't believe that for a moment._ And it was true: he didn't believe it. Somehow, he found himself trusting Holly Short. It was more instinctual than anything else. But he would reserve judgement on the others until he had more information, or until his memories returned.

* * *

They didn't end up having to actually enter the manor. Anxiously awaiting Holly's return, Juliet was posted up outside the front door. The pretty blonde girl rushed up to meet them, but once she was close enough to recognise Artemis, she slowed down, approaching him like a sleep-walker. She stopped right in front of him, lips slightly apart, expression disbelieving.

"Artemis? How… how are you… actually, never mind." Her expression hardened. To Artemis's eternal surprise, she slapped him hard across the cheek.

"Ow!" he yelled, stumbling back and clutching at his face. "What the Hell is wrong with you?"

"That's for leaving your entire family adrift!" she shouted back, stepping forward and slapping him again. "And that's for almost breaking my brother. And this is for all the pain you put _me_ through."

The raised her hand to deliver a third blow, but Holly caught her arm and pulled her back.

"Leave him alone!" she shouted. "He doesn't remember any of that! He doesn't even remember you."

Juliet yanked her arm free, her furious expression turning to one of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"He doesn't remember anything. Before you ask, we don't know why he lost his memories, or how he managed to survive the Nebula Facility exploding. All we know is that he's alive."

Juliet calmed down a little and turned to Artemis. "Is this true?"

The youth nodded nervously, rubbing his cheek. It was already a deep shade of red.

Taking a deep breath, Juliet raised her palms in a gesture of peace. "Listen," she began. "I'm sorry I hit you. I've just had a really stressful month, and I haven't had the chance to grieve properly. Not that I need to anymore, thank Frond. Anyway, I was just really angry with you for all the pain you put everyone through, but I'm OK now. The important thing is that you're alive."

Holly put herself between them and addressed Artemis. "Are you hungry? Do you want to go and grab something to eat?" she asked, eager to change the subject.

Artemis gave another timid nod, still reticent to speak lest he anger Juliet and end up being hit again. Why did all the women in his life feel the need to assault him? He certainly hoped his mother wasn't like this as well.

"OK," said the elf, turning to the Butlers. "Can you fix us something to eat? I'll show Artemis his room and his study. Maybe he'll find something familiar that can help trigger recall."

The two pairs began to go their separate ways, but before Holly and Artemis could make it to Artemis's room, she was interrupted by an urgent call from Foaly. She considered ignoring it so she could spend unadulterated time with Artemins, but there was always the possibility that it was something important.

She sighed and accepted the call. "Hang on a moment, Mud Boy," she told Artemis before turning her attention to Foaly. "I'm with Artemis. This better be good."

"I need you back at Police Plaza," the centaur told her. "Bring the Mud Boy."

"That's not how it works, Foaly. Consultants don't give orders to captains. Besides, Artemis doesn't remember anything. You can't expect him to come below ground."

"There's a situation," countered the technical consultant. "An _Opal Koboi_ situation."

There was a brief pause. "I'm on my way. I'll see what I can do about bringing Artemis, but I'm not making any promises."

* * *

"No." Butler's tone was unyielding. "I am categorically vetoing this course of action."

"But this is Opal Koboi we're talking about," repeated Holly for the third time. "We'll need Artemis's brain to outmanoeuvre her."

"Once again," growled the bodyguard, refusing to be swayed. "No."

Holly shook her head in frustration. "It won't even be dangerous! We're only talking about Haven. He's been there before and nothing bad happened, remember?"

"I remember. But-"

"I don't," interrupted Artemis, who was sitting rather forgotten at the kitchen table. "And don't I get a say in this?"

"Nope," answered Butler firmly.

"That depends," said Holly. "Whose side are you on?"

Artemis smiled. "Yours, actually. My parents won't be back for at least a few days and this Opal Koboi person sounds dangerous. If I may be of assistance, it would make sense for me to go. And Holly is right: we're only talking about going to Haven to act as a consultant."

"But you can't even remember anything!" argued the manservant, frustrated that his charge had intervened on Holly's side. Artemis was a lot harder to argue against than the elfin captain. "You don't even remember defeating Koboi the previous times. How are you going to beat her now?"

The youth stood up and laid a hand on Butler's massive shoulder, preparing to play his trump card. This was his real reason for wanting to accompany Holly underground.

"Old friend," he began. "My amnesia is precisely the reason I must go. Exposure to the fairy world has a chance to trigger at least some limited recall, and I expect that the supposedly genius centaur – Foaly, is that his name? – would like to examine me. According to Holly, the People actually developed a means of artificially suppressing memories; if anyone can help me recover mine, it's them."

Butler sagged. Artemis was right and he knew it. But that didn't mean he liked it. He pointed a warning finger at Holly.

"One day." His expression made it clear that there would be consequence if the elf failed to return his charge in time. "No more. And I'm only allowing this on the condition that Foaly helps him get his memories back." He sighed. "One day. Understand?"

Holly nodded amicably and gave the giant bodyguard a light punch in the forearm. It was as high as she could reach.

"Don't worry, Big Man," she said. "We'll be fine. You do still trust me with your principal, don't you?"

"You're one of the few I do," Butler grudgingly admitted.

"Holly?" Artemis was looking a little nervous. "The thing is… I won't have to travel underground clipped onto your belt, will I?"

The elf laughed. There was just something comical about Artemis's pained expression. She shook her head. "K'Azir is sending a shuttle. It'll be here in a few hours I expect."

Artemis was visibly relieved. "Wonderful. In that case, I would like to change into some more suitable attire."

Butler looked at Artemis's jeans and heavy metal t-shirt and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you would," he said, the barest hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "I was going to ask about your clothing choice."

Artemis gave an exaggerated sigh. "It wasn't my choice," he insisted. "Or at least if it was, I don't remember why. I'm sure I had an _excellent_ reason."

"Yeah," said Holly. " _Sure_ you did." Artemis opened his mouth issue a scathing retort, but Holly acquiesced before he had the chance. "Alright, alright." She smiled. "Come on. I'll show you to your room. I'm sure you've got plenty of boring suits to choose from."

Artemis followed her dutifully out of the kitchen and in the direction of his room. Once they were out of Butler's earshot, Holly broke the friendly silence.

"When you were speaking to Butler," she began. "You called him _old friend_. I didn't tell you that you used to call him that."

"Did I?" Artemis thought for a moment, frowning. "I suppose I did." He shrugged. "It just came out. As though it was the right thing to say. I can't really explain it."

Holly broke into a huge grin. "You're starting to remember!" she exclaimed. "At least, a little. Maybe not consciously, not yet, but it's a start."

Artemis returned the smile. It was comforting to think that he would soon remember the people around him.

"I hope you're right," he told the elf.

"Actually, there's something else I was going to ask you," said Holly. She stopped walking and looked Artemis in the eye. "You called Fowl Manor, right? How did you know what number to call? And don't tell me it _just felt right_ or something like that."

Artemis gave a soft chuckle and pulled the piece of paper with the string of numbers on it from his pocket. He might have been dubious about showing the others, but he felt able to trust Holly more readily with every minute he spent in her company. He held out the note to her.

Holly took a step forward, frowning. She reached out, taking the scrap of paper from Artemis's outstretched hand. The crease in her brow deepened as she inspected it.

"Where did you get this?"

Artemis shrugged by way of a response. "Originally? I have no idea. All I know is that it was in my pocket when I woke up. What do you think it means?"

"It means," responded Holly, her tone serious. "That your memory loss wasn't a mistake. This note must either have been written by you, meaning you were aware that you were going to lose your memories and prepared accordingly – which is unlikely, since I don't think this is your writing and, if you were going to leave yourself a message, you would probably leave something more informative."

"The second option?"

"It was written by someone else, probably the person who took your memories."

Artemis frowned for a moment, deep in thought. "You don't think I could have been mindwiped again, do you?"

Holly looked unsure. "I don't know. It's possible I suppose."

"But you think my amnesia was deliberate?"

"I think so," the elf replied, nodding slowly. "It's the only explanation for the note. Someone must have known in advance, whether that was you or someone else. And the only way they could know in advance is if it was artificially induced."

"Not necessarily," Artemis disagreed. "It may have been placed after I lost my memories, while I was unconscious."

Holly shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. How would they know who you were, or what number to write? Or even that you had no memories? And if they did know all of that, why not stick around? Why just leave a cryptic note and disappear?"

Artemis didn't respond, silently conceding that Holly was right. The elf closed her eyes in concentration, trying to make sense of it all.

"I don't get it," she said finally. "If someone went to the trouble of erasing your memories, why leave a clue that could help you to recover them?" She shook her head in frustration. "It doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps not," said Artemis, not looking unduly bothered. "But I hardly think it matters."

Holly was taken aback. "Why not?"

"If I am able to recover my memories – whether by a natural process or with Foaly's help – I will remember exactly who did this to me. Everything will make sense. If I am not, it would likely make minimal difference knowing the person responsible. Although I suppose it is possible that only they would know how to reverse the process, in which case access to their knowledge would be imperative. Still, it would be wise to pursue that option only if and when all other available options are exhausted."

Holly regarded him for a moment, an odd look on her face, as though she had just realised something.

"You're not speaking in fives," she observed. "I only just noticed."

Artemis's eyebrows shot up. "Why on Earth would I be doing that?"

"Sorry, I forgot you don't remember. Atlantis Complex. Speaking in multiples of five was a symptom."

"You forgot that I don't remember?" Artemis smirked. "Oh, the irony. And that sounds sickeningly irrational. I would assume that the Complex was linked to my memories – from what you said before, it was partly caused by them – and so without the memories to act as a foundation, it no longer affects me. If I am able to trigger full recall, it is entirely possible that the Complex could reassert itself."

A shadow passed over Holly's face and she turned away. "No," she muttered, more to herself than her human friend. "I won't let that happen."

"It's a mental disorder," said Artemis, raising a cynical eyebrow. "I don't see how you could stop it."

Holly spun to face him. Artemis was struck by how fierce her expression was. The determination in her eyes.

"I'll figure something out," she said resolutely, her tone daring Artemis to argue.

He didn't. Maybe he was remembering the punch he had received the last time he had angered the elfin captain, or maybe, just maybe, there was something about the glint in Holly's eye that made him inclined to believe her.

* * *

Much as Holly had grown tired of her human friend's determination to wear exclusively suits, the boy was undeniably more _Artemis_ once he had changed into one of his Armani suits. The elf smiled as she looked at him.

 _He really_ is _back,_ she thought. It didn't matter how many times she thought about it, it still managed to surprise her. It was a pleasant surprise, though. A sort of warm and fuzzy feeling in her gut. She had never dared to believe that she would see him again. Talk to him again. And though the legacy of his death was still raw and painful, she could feel the wounds already beginning to heal now that he was alive again.

But there was something troubling her as well. The last words she had spoken to Artemis before the Nebula Facility had exploded echoed around her head. She had thought she was going to lose him forever, and so she had spoken from the heart, desperate to say something that would dissuade him from throwing his life away.

Three little words. A truth she had denied for far too long had been acknowledged, and now that she was being honest with herself about her feelings, she wanted nothing more than to act on those feelings.

But he didn't remember. He didn't remember her admission. In fact, he didn't remember her at all. How could she have what her heart demanded when he didn't even know her anymore? All their times together might be lost to him forever. It was almost unbearable that after everything, all the hardships they had endured, all the times they had saved the world, they might be denied their chance at happiness.

Finding out that Artemis was alive felt like a second chance. A lifeline thrown down from the heavens. Holly was determined not to squander it, but at the same time, she didn't see how she could take advantage of the opportunity if Artemis wasn't able to reclaim his memories.

 _Well_ ,she told herself, _if he can't get his old memories back,_ _we'll just have to make new ones. I won't give up on him again. I won't give up on_ us _._

And so, as she watched Artemis emerge from his room, now clad in a suit and looking much more like his old self, she forced herself to smile. She pushed the fear away, ignoring the lingering grief and anxiety that clawed at her stomach. Because at the very least, Artemis was _alive_ , and that was more than she would have ever dared to ask for.

"You look more yourself, Mud Boy," she commented. "So, you ready to go? The LEP shuttle will be here soon."

* * *

 **A/N:** I know that not a lot happened this chapter, but I felt like it was important to do the whole Artemis meeting Butler and Juliet thing properly. We're getting steadily closer to some major action, which was really fun to write.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and would love to hear any feedback you might have.

-Kio


	6. Forced

**A/N:** First off, let me apologise for not updating in a few weeks. I'd love to have to some excuse to give, but I really don't, I was just lazy and wasn't in the mood to write. Sorry. I'm also working on another Artemis Fowl fic right now (which I will only upload once it's completely finished), so some of the time I did manage to find for writing was invested in that. Anyway, the good news is I'm back on the grind and updating this again, and that there's another fic (completely unconnected to this and Winter of Decay) on the way for those of you who enjoy my work.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 6; Forced**

 **Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Getting Artemis into Haven had proved more difficult than expected. With the climate among fairies so hostile to humanity, and with large numbers of them convinced that the LEP was lying to them while the Mud People secretly waged war on the People, it was agreed that parading him through the streets of the fairy capital wasn't exactly going to go down well.

There were other issues too. Being seen treating him well would make it look it like they were working with the humans, while pretending he was under arrest would only give credence to the idea that the LEP and humanity was engaged in some kind of hidden conflict.

In the end, they just wrapped him in cam foil and bundled him onto a trolley, using it to carry him through the Tara shuttle port unseen. It wasn't exactly dignified, but the LEP commandos that K'Azir had sent to escort Artemis to Haven had made it clear exactly how much they cared about the Mud Boy's comfort, hinting that he could just as easily be transported unconscious. One of them had even let his hand stray to his neutrino suggestively, as though the barely veiled threat hadn't been plain enough already.

Holly had been ready to launch into an indignant rant about the injustice of it all, and how Artemis shouldn't be treated as less just because he was human, but the youth had acquiesced before she had had the chance, keen not to make things any more complicated than they already were.

It had been easier once they had actually reached Haven. They had been able to dock in an LEP restricted hangar, and from there it hadn't been difficult to get Artemis into a vehicle with blacked out windows without being seen. One of the black-clad commandos was driving – and, judging by his speed and general disregard for safety, seemed to have taken a leaf out of Holly's book – with another riding shotgun, while the other two kept an eye on Artemis in the back. Both kept a hand near their weapons at all times.

Holly tried to ignore them, but after a while she couldn't bring herself to keep her mouth shut anymore.

"Don't think I don't see what you're doing. It's completely unreasonable – Artemis has been a friend to the People for years. He's saved this city more times than I can count. And yet you treat him like an animal."

Artemis turned away from the argument that was sure to follow Holly's words. He understood why the LEP were behaving like this – Holly had explained the worsening situation below ground. He didn't mind the slightly undignified treatment. He would have told the elf to let it go if he thought it would have made any difference.

One of the commandos maintained his silence. The only sign that he had even heard Holly's criticism was the casual moving of his hand a little closer to his neutrino, showing exactly how much he cared what she had to say on the subject.

The other seemed more prepared to engage with the recon captain. He pulled off his helmet, taking care to give Holly a good view of his face. Or, more specifically, what was left of it. A chunk of his jaw was simply… _missing._ Holly's gasp was audible.

"Like the view, Captain?" he asked cynically, flashing her a grim smile. "I was at Tara. There are some things that not even magic can heal."

Holly averted her gaze. She hadn't been at Tara, but while Galadhon and his fairies had been fighting off Amber's soldiers, she and Artemis had been trying to stop Amber herself. Holly could still remember the insanity in the manic centaur's eyes as she had described the armoured monstrosities she had sent to annihilate anyone unfortunate enough to be at Tara. The Undying, she had called them. Indestructible agents of war, bred for a single purpose: the extermination of Amber's enemies.

"Humans did this to me," continued the scarred fairy. "Took a piece of me with them. So forgive me if I don't have a lot of sympathy for your friend."

Holly looked sharply back to him. "Humans on the orders of a fairy," she corrected.

The commando shrugged. "So you and the Commander say."

Holly opened her mouth to respond, but Artemis got there first. "Leave it, Holly. It's not worth it."

The elf rounded on him. "You're not worth sticking up for?" she demanded.

Artemis sighed. The tiredness in his eyes was obvious. "Let him have his childish prejudices. They don't bother me."

Holly glared daggers him, but didn't push it further. They arrived at Police Plaza a few minutes later, avoiding the crowd amassed outside and delivering Artemis unseen with the use of a rear entrance.

In frosty silence, the four commandos escorted Holly and Artemis to Foaly's Ops booth, where the centaur himself, K'Azir and several other senior LEP officials were waiting for them.

"What's the situation?" asked Holly as soon as they were across the threshold. The assembled fairies all turned to Foaly.

The centaur rolled his eyes and stepped forward, preparing to launch into an explanation of recent events.

"Opal Koboi," he began, pushing a button on a handheld remote. Koboi's file immediately appeared on one of the screens. "Certified genius, mentally unstable, the only person to ever be both public enemy number and two at the same time. Architect of the goblin rebellion and the Zito probe incident."

"We know who Opal is," interrupted Holly. "We're the ones who stopped both those plots, remember?"

Foaly ignored the interruption, continuing his presentation about Koboi. "A short time ago, Opal Koboi from eight years ago travelled to our time. You both already know this, of course, since it was basically your fault. Anyway. Past Opal." He pressed another button, and another appeared on screen, this time pertaining specifically to the second Opal Koboi in their time. "LEP codename Nexus. Disappeared without a trace after dear old Arty here buried her under several tonnes of rock – well done, by the way."

K'Azir picked up the story, deciding that enough time had been wasted on melodramatic explanations of things they all already knew.

"Naturally, Nexus became a high priority target for the LEP. A separate task force was created with the sole intention of tracking her down, but they were unable to locate her. In fact, Nexus proved completely elusive. We have absolutely no idea what she's been doing since she disappeared."

Holly was listening now. She hadn't known they had created an entire task force just to hunt down Opal's past self. And obviously she knew that the maniacal pixie hadn't been caught, but she had assumed the LEP at least had some leads. Apparently, she had been mistaken.

"So what's she done now?" The question came from Artemis.

"In short," said Foaly, his tone more serious now. "She contacted us. Via satellite. She offered us a deal: she gives herself up and we set the Opal from our time free."

Artemis gave an admiring chuckle. "Oh, that's good," he said. "Very good. She's alone in a new time with no way no get home, no allies, no resources and, presumably, no way to achieve any of her objectives. So, what does she do? She turns herself into a bargaining chip."

Several of the rooms occupants gave Artemis odd looks, wondering why he was so keen to give their enemy credit for her actions. Foaly, however, was curious. He motioned for Artemis to carry on.

"It's clever," the boy continued. "Because it's actually a good offer. For both of you. She doesn't want to stay in our time, but she has no way to return to her own. Therefore, she must concede her memories and allow the LEP to send her back. But, understandably, she will never do this while she knows that her future is sure to end in incarceration. And so she offers the LEP a trade they cannot ignore."

There were mutterings around the room. Several astonished expressions were directed at the human youth, Holly's among them.

"Artemis, what in Frond's name are you talking about?" hissed the elf. "We can't release Opal!"

Artemis cleared his throat. "My apologies; I believe I was not clear. Allow me to rephrase. I was not saying you must accept the offer, I was saying you cannot afford to ignore it. The LEP must engage with this offer because it has no other way to contain the significant security risk posed by Koboi. It is not an offer, not really. It is a challenge. She is throwing down a gauntlet."

Even K'Azir was interested now. "Explain, Fowl."

"Opal is aware that you will never willingly release her other self, not even if you could guarantee that she would keep her end of the deal. But she also knows that in giving a location for the trade, she will be giving her own location. The LEP cannot afford to waste that opportunity. I'm sure, Commander, you have already reached the conclusion that your only real option is to accept the trade and attempt a double-cross."

K'Azir gave a reluctant nod. Much as he hated to admit it, the human was right. Opal was offering them a golden opportunity to apprehend her – they couldn't afford to squander it. Just knowing where she would be was more to work with than they had had in months.

"And so, knowing that you will have to go along with her but will attempt to cheat her," concluded Artemis. "She is challenging you. In essence she is saying: this is where I'll be, if you want to come and get me, you have to bring my other self out of the security of prison. If you win, you get both Kobois in custody. If she wins, you get neither. It's a risk you are both forced to take."

There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed the weight of what Artemis was saying. Opal was baiting them in, they all knew she was. And she knew that they knew, and that they would take the bait anyway.

"D'Arvit," swore Holly. "I don't like this. Are you sure we can't just ignore her? I'm not keen on playing her games."

"Sadly, no," said Artemis. "At least, I doubt it. I assume Opal's message came with a threat?"

Foaly nodded. "She promised she would destabilise the People's entire society if we didn't accept."

"It doesn't matter what the threat is," replied Artemis distractedly, already deep in thought. "Unless the LEP can guarantee that she can't carry it out – which it can't – they have to take it seriously. She makes you choose between all the problems she might cause if left to her own spiteful devices, and a chance to finally deal with the Opal Koboi problem once and for all. It's not a hard choice to make."

"So you agree?" asked Foaly. Normally, the centaur would never have risked being seen to respect Fowl's opinion, but this was a special case. This was Opal. And if Artemis had demonstrated himself capable of anything over the years, it was defeating Opal Koboi.

"What?" Artemis looked at annoyed at having had his train of thought interrupted. "Oh, you mean do I agree that you should accept the offer? Yes, of course." He tilted his head for a moment, thinking. "It wouldn't even be such a bad thing if the exchange went as planned," he mused.

Foaly, K'Azir and Holly all stared at Artemis in horror. The centaur recovered from his surprise first.

" _What?"_ he spluttered. "You think it wouldn't be so bad if Opal was released on this world?"

Artemis shrugged. "Certainly not ideal, I grant you. However, I would postulate that the trade would remain beneficial. Present Opal is less of a threat than past Opal."

Holly frowned. "Why?"

When Artemis turned to face her, he was wearing his condescending smirk of old. "You have two of the same person in the same timeline and you don't see the problem? It's a miracle the timeline is even still intact. Every second that Opal remains here there is a greater risk of it becoming corrupted. Perhaps it already has, in small ways. And what if something happens to her? What if she dies?"

Foaly, being significantly faster than the room's other occupants, visibly paled.

"Exactly," said Artemis. "You have an enemy who threatens your entire world simply by existing who will stop at nothing to achieve her aims. She has impressive magical powers that present Opal does not, and perhaps most importantly of all, you can't kill her. If present Opal becomes a problem, you can pursue action that would eliminate her once and for all." He ignored Holly's appalled expression. "However, the LEP cannot risk past Opal being hurt. This makes her a far graver threat than her future self."

Everyone else in the room looked distinctly uncomfortable. K'Azir wondered briefly how what he had intended to be a briefing for Holly and Artemis had somehow turned into the Mud Boy lecturing them all. The problem was, his arguments were all sound. As much as he hated to admit it, Artemis was right: they were going to have to accept Opal's offer.

"So what do we do now?" he said grudgingly, bothered by the fact he was asking a human for advice.

Artemis just shrugged. "I presume that she promised to contact you again to hear your response." A quick glance at Foaly's expression told him he was right. He turned back to K'Azir. "What you do, Commander, is wait. When you hear from Opal, you attempt to secure the best possible conditions for the trade, and you begin preparing your double-cross."

* * *

There were still several hours before Koboi was expected to contact the LEP again and request an answer to her ultimatum, so Foaly suggested that Artemis have his brain checked. And while the human boy might not have been keen on trusting people he didn't know to attach electrodes to his head and investigate his mind, he had decided it would be worth it if it helped him regain his memories. The world he was discovering was a fascinating one, and he wished dearly that he could remember it.

More than that, though, he wished he could remember his friends. Butler, Juliet, Foaly. His family. Holly.

Now, he found himself holed up in one of Police Plaza's technical laboratories, a whole team of fairies busying themselves attaching electrodes to his head and connecting various expensive looking pieces of equipment. Foaly assured him they were all very qualified, but that didn't stop an apprehensive tremor making its way down his spine as he watched them working. They all kept glancing at him, trying and failing to hide their childish fascination with the fact that a human was in their lab.

 _Relax,_ he told himself. _Foaly trusts them, and Holly trusts Foaly. And you trust Holly, don't you?_

Artemis absently nodded to himself. Yes, he trusted Holly. And if this would help remember her, he would do it. Simple as that. Without him really intending it to, his gaze found the elf, resting on her. She sat in a corner, watching proceedings distractedly, as though lost in thought.

Artemis was suddenly reminded of when he had opened his eyes in that hotel room in Nice to see the elf stood before him. One of the first things he had noticed, before the pointy ears or the gun, was how pretty she was. As he looked at her now, he couldn't help but notice it again.

A thought flashed through him. _Extremely pretty, in a dangerous sort of way. Black-widow pretty._ Artemis frowned. The thought felt odd, as though it hadn't come from him, and yet it was strangely familiar. Like déjà vu, but more tangible.

Had it come from the strange presence at the back of his mind? _No,_ he realised, _it was my thought. Only… only not from today. A memory?_

Excited, he looked closer at Holly, concentrating on her, trying to evoke the same experience again. Trying to focus on the thought, to bring it the fore.

The elf caught him looking. She seemed to withdraw from her thoughts, inclining her head towards him and raising a curious eyebrow.

"Something on your mind, Mud Boy?"

Artemis averted his eyes, shaking his head. "It's nothing," he said, but internally he was cheering. He had remembered something; he was sure of it. And presumably, that meant he could remember more things. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he stole another glance at Holly. Eventually, he would remember her. He could feel it.

"Ready," called one of the technicians, and Foaly trotted over to Artemis. The youth had an almost comical amount of electrodes attached to his temples and wrists, all running into neural transformers through fibre optic cables.

"Alright, Mud Boy," announced the centaur, raising a pair of sleep goggles. "These will send you to sleep so we can complete scans of your brain. It's not painful, so just try to relax."

Artemis nodded uncertainly, looking to Holly for guidance. He hadn't been told he was going to be knocked out.

Sensing her human friend's trepidation, the elf stepped forward and took the mask from Foaly.

"I'll do that," she said, and began to hook to goggles over Artemis's head. She gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be here when you wake up, OK?"

Artemis nodded again, this time with more confidence. Holly reached out and pressed a small button on the sleep mask. A combination of hypno-lights in the eyepieces and sedative administered through the seals knocked the human boy out in less than five seconds.

Foaly moved over to the bank of computers connected to Artemis's brain, firing them up. Strings of Gnomish characters immediately started scrolling across the plasma screens. Apparently satisfied that everything was in working order, he dismissed the crew of technicians. Grumbling, the fairies reluctantly filed out.

Holly went to stand beside the centaur. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"About Artemis?" Foaly shrugged. "Difficult to say. The most obvious cause of his memory loss would be a mindwipe – that's what I'm going to check for first – but that would only create more questions. Namely how and why."

Holly nodded. Especially since Artemis had shown her the note he had found, she had found herself growing surer and surer that the human's memory loss was artificially induced.

"There's something else," Foaly continued. "Your elfin friend on the surface – you said the assassin he described sounded like Natalya. I reasoned that if she was alive, Artemis might be as well, but it's just as easy to reverse engineer that logic."

Holly's realised what he was getting at. Her expression darkened. "You mean that because Artemis managed to survive, she could have done as well?"

The centaur gave an uncomfortable nod. "Obviously, it doesn't necessarily mean she's out there, but we should take the possibility seriously nevertheless."

Holly didn't say anything. The idea that Natalya might be out there somewhere, perhaps planning revenge or even still trying to accomplish Amber's war, was unsettling to say the least. It didn't help that the Russian girl had been at least in part responsible for Holly's significant suffering over the last month and a half. Physical pain, grief, trauma. Natalya had been complicit in all of it.

While Holly brooded, Foaly set to work gathering information about Artemis's mind. The words _commencing preliminary scans_ flashed up on the screen in front of him in Gnomish script.

"Something's bothering me about all of this," announced Holly, breaking the silence.

Foaly gave a flippant laugh. "Just one thing? You're doing better than me, then."

"I'm serious."

The centaur rolled his eyes. "Fine. What is it?"

"The time frame. Somehow, Artemis escapes the Nebula Facility. Somehow, he loses his memories, waking up a month later with no idea who he is."

Foaly started nodding absently, catching on. "So, where did that month go? If he was only mindwiped a few days ago, he must have been somewhere else for the past month. Why wouldn't he contact someone who knew him?"

"Exactly," confirmed Holly. "Unless he wasn't free to."

"You think he was kidnapped?"

Holly shrugged. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

But Foaly was shaking his head. "No," he said. "That doesn't make any sense. Why kidnap him, only to make no demands and then release him a month later with no memories? And the kidnapper would have to have fairy technology to execute a mindwipe. It doesn't make sense."

Before Holly could respond, an alert popped up on the screen. _Preliminary scans complete_. Foaly rubbed his hands together and started typing furiously. Lines of information flashed by impossibly fast on the screen, far too quickly for Holly to follow. As the centaur worked, a frown slowly began to form on his face.

"No," he muttered. "No, that isn't right. That isn't right at all."

"What is it?" asked Holly urgently, immediately concerned for Artemis.

For a moment, Foaly didn't respond, instead opting to simply stare at the screen in disbelief. After a few insistent prods from Holly, he shook himself out of the trance and turned to her.

"I'm not sure," he said, grimacing. Foaly did not like admitting he didn't know something. "A sentient mind, human or fairy, is a complicated thing. It isn't possible to simply erase memories; all you can do is suppress them. That's what a mindwipe does. Even the Mud People have primitive drugs capable of limited memory suppression."

"I know how a mindwipe works, Foaly," said Holly, her patience already wearing thin. "Can you get to the point?"

"You know the basics of how a mindwipe works," corrected the centaur condescendingly. "It's a lot more complicated than you think."

Holly ground her teeth in frustration. "Is that important?"

Foaly sighed. "Yes, actually. Very important. The thing is, the brain is fragile. A mindwipe has a lot of risks attached. Everything in the brain is connected – if you start messing around with one bit, it _will_ have side effects."

"So is Artemis going to experience these… _side effects_?" said Holly, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"If you blanket wipe someone," Foaly carried on as though Holly hadn't spoken. "And erase all memories in a certain period, then you probably don't really care about those risks. Some brain damage is probable, especially with longer periods of memory. If you delete _all_ of someone's memories, you basically irreparably damage their mind."

Holly visibly paled. "But Artemis can't remember anything… are you saying…?"

Foaly shook his head. "You've spoken to him. Did he seem like someone with brain damage?"

Holly had to admit that he hadn't. Artemis had been his usual infuriatingly genius self when he had been lecturing them about Opal.

"And tell me about his personality," the centaur continued. "Someone's psyche is heavily influenced by their experiences. Remove the memories that shape them, you change who they are. We learnt that ourselves when we mindwiped him after the Spiro incident. Did he seem more or less like the Artemis you remember, or someone entirely different?"

Holly frowned. "He was still very much Artemis, even if he couldn't remember me. A little colder than he was at the end, but definitely Artemis."

"Exactly. And that shouldn't be the case." The centaur indicated the computer next to him. "According to this, his brain shows all the signs of having been fine-tune wiped, meaning that selective memories were suppressed. That's what we did to him ourselves. And yet, he remembers nothing."

"So what does that mean? How can that even be possible?"

Foaly looked as if he was about to admit something he really didn't want to.

"It means that someone has tech that is years – no, _decades_ – ahead of what I have. Somehow – and I have absolutely no idea how – someone has suppressed his memories while leaving his personality and cognitive function untouched."

The furrow in Holly's brow was steadily deepening. It was clear that she was struggling to follow, but Foaly ploughed on regardless.

"The only way I can even think of to do that would be to allow him to keep access his memories, but trick his conscious mind into believing that it can't remember anything. If I had to guess, unconsciously he can still remember all of us, he just doesn't realise it."

"Wait a minute," interjected Holly. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Foaly looked unsure. "Well, it means recall _is_ possible. I was hoping that we could simply reverse whatever was done, but the level of precision required to undo this is insane. A blanket wipe is crude and inexact, like performing an amputation with a hatchet. It works, but it's not pretty, and it's not pleasant for the victim. In contrast, this is like fine brain surgery." He glanced at Holly, the apology written all over his face. "I'm sorry, Holly. We don't have the tools to even attempt something like this."

Holly's mouth was a grim slash. "You said recall was possible."

Foaly sighed. "Technically, yes. But I can't provoke it. Artemis would have to remember on his own, or we would need the person that did this to him. Either way, it doesn't look good."

Holly said nothing for a moment, her eyes steadily growing colder. She made to leave, but Foaly called her back.

"Holly, wait," he said. "There's something else." The elf turned to him slowly. Foaly flinched slightly at her expression. "All that information comes from my preliminary scans. Normally I would be able to directly access the memories if they were there – just like when we wiped him the first time – but for some reason, I'm not able to. I can't explain it. It's almost like his brain is resisting."

Holly shrugged, not interested in something that would probably turn out to be further bad news.

"Artemis was always strong willed," she offered noncommittedly.

Foaly gave a sharp, cynical laugh. "I don't think you follow me, Holly. You can't _resist_ , it doesn't work like that. It's not a matter of mental fortitude, it simply isn't possible."

"So what does it mean?"

The centaur sighed, glancing back at Artemis's unconscious form. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. But something is very wrong here."

Now it was Holly's turn to respond with a humourless laugh. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Just… be careful, alright? I know you're pleased Artemis is alive – aren't we all? – but he's not the same person we remember, not yet. Until he's back to normal, I'm not sure how much I trust him."

* * *

 **A/N:** Still getting closer to some massive action and some massive exposition ;)

I studied TEC to try and keep the stuff about mindwipes as canon as possible, but unfortunately Colfer is somewhat inconsistent about them (as with so many things, much to my annoyance) so I did my best while keeping it applicable to the plot I've written. Hope it was okay.

I would love a review if you have a spare moment to share your thoughts :)

-Kio


	7. Mobilised

**A/N:** I almost didn't get this up today, but after my last update was so late, I had to force myself to get this done. I seem to be running into a sort of reverse writer's block – I'm fine writing new material (and am having a great time writing some pretty crazy action that takes place later at the moment), but when it comes to proofreading and editing prewritten content, I just can't motivate myself to do it. Anyway, I still have a bunch of chapters for this fic already written, so providing I can force myself to edit them, there shouldn't be any more delays.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 7; Mobilised**

 **Police Plaza, Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Once Foaly had reawoken him, Artemis sat and patiently listened as the centaur explained the situation regarding his memories. Holly stood awkwardly to the side, fidgeting. The bad news clearly wasn't sitting well with her.

There was a moment of silence after Foaly had finished speaking; Artemis gave no outward sign of emotion.

"Very well," he said calmly, rising from the chair. "I shall have to remember on my own." He brushed an imaginary speck of dirt from his suit. "Now, I expect Opal shall be in touch soon. It would be prudent to in position when she calls."

The youth made to return to the Ops booth, but Holly caught his arm.

"You're not upset?" she asked. The elf looked almost hurt that Artemis didn't seem overly concerned that he may never remember her.

Artemis turned to her, showing her the determination in his face. "I am not upset," he said. "Because I know that I will be able to achieve this."

Holly was only slightly reassured by Artemis's certainly, but nevertheless she let it go. She wasn't interested in arguing with him, and anyway, he was right about Opal. They needed to be ready for her.

Shrugging as though it wasn't a big deal, the elfin captain led Artemis to the Situations booth, where they were expecting to accept Opal's communications. Foaly trotted along behind them, reluctant to get in Holly's way. He had decided that today was probably one of the ones where it paid to give the elf some space.

The trio arrived only a few moments before Opal had promised to be in touch. K'Azir gave them a sort of gruff greeting, not bothering to hide his distaste for Artemis, who was already drawing quite a few curious looks from the various technicians and LEP officers in the room. Foaly set about making sure the technical side of things was all in order.

"We are detecting a signal on the same frequency as before," announced one of LEP technicians. "Displaying feed now."

Exactly as before, Opal's sinister smile filled various screens around the room.

"We have Nexus online," called another technician, a tad unnecessarily.

Artemis took a step towards K'Azir. "Remember," he told the commander. "Negotiate. Sound reluctant and leverage whatever you can to secure favourable conditions for the trade."

"I know what I'm doing, Mud Boy," growled K'Azir, giving Artemis a filthy look before turning his attention to the console in front of him and switching on the mic.

"Koboi. What do you want?"

On the screen, Opal gave a theatrical sigh. "Why do I always end up having to deal with the simple ones?" She shook her head. "Root was no different. At least he got what he deserved from my future self."

The pixie's eyes flashed with malice as she spoke, as if daring someone to disagree with her. Artemis could see Holly struggling to control her expression. Trying not to let the hatred show.

"Anyway," continued Opal. "I digress. You know exactly what I want. Agree to my terms to suffer the consequences."

K'Azir didn't respond for a moment, weighing up his options. "Forget your games for a moment, Koboi," he said eventually. "You know we can't trust you for a moment. What makes you think we would ever risk ending up with two Opal Kobois loose?"

Opal's nostrils flared. "Again with the stupidity. If you don't desist, I may be forced to request that my future self hurt you. You will agree to my terms because you have no choice. I trust you have someone cleverer than you there to explain why that is?"

K'Azir shot a bitter look at Artemis before responding. "It doesn't work like that. We need to be able to guarantee that this goes according to plan. Naturally, we will choose the location and time-"

"No!" shrieked Opal, her pretty features contorting in anger. "Do you take me for a fool? I will select the conditions; you will either be there with my future self or Haven will pay the price. No negotiations."

K'Azir flicked off the mic angrily. "And we lose our chance to get you back to your own time." He tried taking a calming breath. It didn't help. "D'Arvit," he muttered, grudgingly turning to Artemis and Foaly. "Thoughts?"

Judging by his uncomfortable expression, Foaly didn't have anything useful to say. Artemis, on the other hand…

"Let me talk to her."

" _What?"_ spluttered K'Azir, starting at him. "You're not serious. This is a sensitive LEP operation – I'm not letting a human negotiate for us!"

Holly opened her mouth to object, but Artemis was already speaking.

"Because you were doing _such_ a good job of it," he said, coldly returning K'Azir's gaze. "You don't have to like me, but as usual, the LEP needs me. I'm perhaps the only person capable of outwitting Opal Koboi; you know it's true. Even you wouldn't deliberately sabotage a mission out of sheer stubbornness."

The two stared each other down for a moment, but after a few moments K'Azir acquiesced. In spite of himself, he was curious, and if Artemis could actually succeed, that was just a bonus. And if he couldn't? Well, at least they could all have a good laugh at the conceited little Mud Boy.

Artemis stepped forward to the console, switching the mic back on. On the screen, Opal was growing impatient.

"Hello?" she demanded, drumming her fingers. "I don't have all day, so you are rapidly running out of time. It would be a shame if you missed your window of opportunity out of indecision."

Artemis took a breath. "Hello, Opal," he said evenly.

The pixie gave a slight start, but she recovered quickly. "Artemis Fowl," she replied, emphasizing her contempt. "What a pity. I heard that you were dead."

The human gave his most sinister laugh. "Death is little more than an inconvenience for me." Opal gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. _She is trying not to be shaken,_ he noted with satisfaction. _A good start._ "Predictably, you refuse to take the LEP seriously. Understandable, really – they have demonstrated themselves to be incompetent on numerous occasions. I, on the other hand, am anything but. You have learnt the hard way that I am always to be taken seriously."

Opal gave a shrug that was a little _too_ carefree, as though she weren't trying hard to ignore the memory of her humiliation the last time she had underestimated Artemis. From her research, her future self had also fallen victim to Fowl's schemes. The boy was right – she would have to take him seriously.

Artemis laughed vindictively as he watched her _almost_ mange to keep her face unreadable.

"The memories hurt, don't they? Concentrate on that pain, and understand that you're now dealing with someone a lot smarter than the commander."

"You think your presence changes anything, Fowl?" Opal spat, no longer bothering to try and conceal her fury. "It doesn't. The situation remains identical. I am negotiating from a position of power, and you are forced to respect that."

"I am no simpleton like K'Azir," shot back Artemis. "I understand fully the situation. I understand what you are trying to do, the subtleties of the game you're playing. And so, under no circumstances, will I agree to exchange in a location that I am not comfortable with."

Opal stared unblinkingly at the camera recording her for a few moments, her eyes bright with hatred. "In that case, you must understand that neither will I."

"Of course."

On the screen, Opal was visibly surprised. But once again, it only took her a heartbeat to recover her composure, her expression returning to one of casual contempt.

"Fundamentally," Artemis continued. "It doesn't matter to either of us where the exchange takes place, not really. Just as long as we can guarantee that it is not a set-up."

Opal stared hard at the screen on her end for a few seconds, obviously wishing she could see Artemis like he could see her.

"You are not wrong, Mud Boy," she admitted. "So how do you suggest we proceed?"

Artemis spared a moment to shoot K'Azir a smirk, but then he went back to concentrating. This was the difficult part – convincing Opal to agree with what he suggested. Opal had been planning this for a long time – if he agreed to exchange at her choice of location, she could have spent months preparing a trap. He couldn't afford to let that happen.

But what could he suggest? The key, surely, was to appear reasonable to Opal, while simultaneously making sure that she couldn't lure them into an elaborate trap. Then it came to him.

"I choose the region. You choose the exact location. That way, neither of us could have prepared in advance."

On the screen, Opal looked thoughtful. "Very well," she said, her tone daring Artemis to say something she didn't like. "Suggest somewhere."

Artemis smiled to himself, but then caught himself. Even though this was going well, it wasn't over yet. He still needed to choose a region. _I need a curveball,_ he thought. _Something Opal couldn't have anticipated. Somewhere that would afford her no additional advantages._

"Russia," he announced after a moments consideration. "Siberia, to be precise."

Opal frowned, obviously surprised. The reaction was mirrored by several of the LEP personnel alongside Artemis in the Situations booth, including K'Azir. And Holly.

"Artemis, what are you-" the elfin captain started to ask, but the human youth silenced her with a wave of his hand.

On the screen, Opal was narrowing her eyes. "Why?"

Even though the pixie couldn't see him, Artemis shrugged noncommittedly. "That is for me to know. Now, you decide the exact location. Somewhere isolated, of course, but beyond that, it's up to you."

Opal cocked her head to one side, considering it. Artemis allowed himself a small smile, knowing in his heart that he had won.

"Polyarny," said Opal eventually. "In Chukotka. It's an abandoned mining settlement in the middle of nowhere."

Artemis deliberately paused, appearing to think about it, even though he knew it didn't matter much.

"Very well," he said finally, allowing Opal to believe that she had regain control over negotiations. "When?"

"Exactly two days," replied Opal, clearly satisfied with how things were now going. "We exchange in the village itself. Until then, it remains a no man's land. Anyone from the LEP enters, I call off the deal. Simple as that. Understand?"

Artemis didn't bother to respond. He simply cut the connection from the console in front of him and turned to face Holly and K'Azir, giving them a good view of his smug smile.

K'Azir didn't seem impressed. "Russia?" he hissed. " _Russia?_ What in Frond's name are you playing at Mud Boy?"

Artemis shrugged, unfazed. "No reason. The actual location is unimportant; Opal would never have agreed to exchange somewhere where the LEP would have a significant advantage like Tara, and we couldn't afford to risk exchanging at a location that she had pre-prepared. What I have done is secure us a neutral location and a psychological edge."

"We don't want a neutral location!" exclaimed K'Azir, apparently nearing the end of his patience. "We want an advantage."

Artemis sighed. "You already have one. Several, in fact. Opal is a single fairy; the LEP is a vast and technologically advanced military organisation with extensive resources, weapons and numbers. Conditions favourable to Opal might be able cancel out those advantages, but now the location benefits neither party. As the favoured side, that is to your advantage. Additionally, Opal will be convinced that I chose the location for a reason, and so will likely second guess everything she does."

K'Azir opened his mouth to protest, but Foaly placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"I really hate to say it," the centaur muttered. "But I think Artemis is right. The key is to deny Opal an advantage, and he has done that."

K'Azir glared daggers at Artemis, but didn't challenge him further. After a while, he turned to the assembled LEP technicians and officers.

"Find the mining village and start preparing a forward operating base nearby. And contact Atlantis – tell them to be ready to release Opal Koboi."

Once he had finished, Holly went over to him.

"Sir," she said quietly. "Should I get Artemis back to the surface now or wait until afterwards?"

A faint smile tugged at the corners of K'Azir's mouth. "Oh no, Captain," he said. "I don't care what commitments you made to the man mountain – you two are going to Russia."

* * *

 **Tara Shuttle Port**

Galadhon watched with apprehension as the LEP officers traipsed onto the shuttles at the Tara shuttle port. K'Azir was pulling out all the stops – every combat ready officer that wasn't absolutely essential in Haven was armed to the teeth and off to Russia.

Recon officers, retrieval officers, the surviving strike team members. All equipped with as much of Foaly's weaponry as they could carry. All trying to look harder than they felt.

The elf didn't like the idea that the fairy capital was being left almost defenceless. It was difficult enough keeping things under control at the moment without losing every spare body they had. Not to mention that the entire thing might simply be a ploy by Koboi to weaken Haven for an attack. But K'Azir was resolute, insisting that they had to take advantage of their one chance to deal with the Koboi problem once and for all.

Galadhon felt rather than heard Holly approach to stand by his side. For a few minutes the two stood in silence, watching the preparations. Now the officers were loading crates of equipment onto the shuttles. The LEP would need to establish some kind of forward operating base in Russia from which they could orchestrate whatever double cross they ended up planning.

"How is the Mud Boy?" he asked eventually.

Holly took a moment to respond, choosing her words carefully. "Difficult to say. He seems like Artemis, but he doesn't remember anything. I'm not sure what to think."

"Foaly can't do anything?"

Holly shook her head miserably. "He tried. Ran into some issues that even he couldn't explain."

"I'm sorry."

Holly didn't say anything. Galadhon seemed genuine, but sympathy wouldn't help Artemis.

"What do you think about Opal?"

Holly frowned, caught off-guard by the question. Galadhon was generally a man of few words; not someone who asked unnecessary questions or engaged in small talk. If he was asking Holly's opinion, it meant that he valued it.

"I think she's insane and needs to be put away for a long time. Preferably forever."

A thin smile formed on Galadhon's usually impassive features. "This doesn't bother you?"

"Not unduly," replied Holly honestly. "It's a risk, I know, but it's not really like we have a choice. Artemis and Foaly explained it all – we finally have a chance to deal with her, we'd be foolish to squander it."

"Perhaps."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"

The other elf shrugged, as though he didn't really know what he thought. Holly sighed. She wasn't in the mood for evasion. If Galadhon didn't want to explain himself, he didn't have to. She had a mission to be preparing for.

"We should be getting ready," she said. "The first shuttles leave within the hour."

Galadhon nodded absently, eyes still locked onto the LEP officers loading the shuttles. He couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't all be making it home.

* * *

 **The Deeps Maximum Security Prison, Atlantis**

The present-day Opal Koboi was making a futile attempt at levitating. Though it was something she had been able to accomplish as a child, she had been stripped of her magic by the human pituitary gland she'd had briefly attached to her hypothalamus.

 _Imagine it_ , she thought. _I wished to be human. That was a mistake for which I will eventually find someone to blame. The centaur, Foaly – he drove me to it. I will surely find a way to enact revenge._

But though Opal spent several hours a day fantasizing about the revenge she wold one day exact on her enemies, she had yet to come up with a way to achieve it. Even her formidable intellect couldn't figure out a feasible escape plan. Last time she had made preparations with the Argon Clinic fund and the clone, but her last scheme had been executed with no contingency.

Opal was therefore totally nonplussed when one of the doors to her cell phase-changed from solid to gas. As the faint mist cleared, Warden Tarpon Vinyáya, a malleable pen pusher who had never spent a night outside under the moon, stepped across the threshold. He was flanked by two jumbo pixie guards, both armed with neutrinos.

"Warden," Opal said, abandoning her levitation attempt and instead trying to cover up her surprise. No-one ever came into her cell. Even her food was delivered automatically. "Has my pardon arrived?"

Tarpon was not amused. "There's a situation. Action needs to be taken."

Koboi frowned. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but this certainly wasn't it.

"Explain," she ordered contemptuously. "What situation? What action?"

The warden sneered at her. "Classified." He gestured to the guards. "Get on with it," he said emotionlessly, turning to leave.

The jumbo pixies smiled at each other. Jumbo pixies were a breed peculiar to Atlantis, where the particular blend of pressurised environment and algae-based filtration had caused them to pop up with increased regularity over the years. What the jumbo pixies gained in brawn they generally sacrificed in brains, and so they made the ideal prison guards, having no respect for anyone smaller than themselves who did not sign their pay checks.

One of them strode rapidly into cell and roughly grabbed Opal, easily forcing her to her knees and pinning her arms by her sides. The other jumbo pixie stepped forward and sunk his fist into Opal's stomach. Koboi grunted in pain and made to call for Vinyáya, but then another fist connected with her face, snatching the words from her mouth before they could be spoken.

Tarpon Vinyáya was waiting in the corridor when the guards returned from Opal's cell a few minutes later, leaving the pixie unconscious inside. The warden's eyes lingered for a moment on the jumbo pixies' bloodied knuckles, but he didn't pass comment.

"Clean her up," he ordered. "And prepare the cell for transport."

A faint smile decorated the warden's lips as he watched them walk away. After all, his orders from Police Plaza had only been to make sure Koboi was unconscious for transport. K'Azir hadn't specified how.

Opal Koboi was not popular in the Deeps.

* * *

 **Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, North-eastern Siberia, Russia**

Past Opal's chosen location for the exchange, Polyarny, was one of several abandoned mining settlements that littered the harsh wastes of Siberia. It was little more than a village, really. A cluster of derelict buildings and a mine that had not seen work in over a decade. The whole place reeked of decay.

The first LEP six shuttles arrived at dusk, shrouded by the People's advanced technology. But they passed by Polyarny, landing instead among the mountains to the west. The small fleet touched down, nestling themselves in an area of low ground between the peaks.

LEP officers were already disembarking, carrying equipment off their shuttles and starting to establish a temporary base. The mountain clearing was the perfect location – only a few kilometres away from Polyarny and with negligible chances of being discovered by humans.

While the low ground wouldn't be easy to defend from a direct assault, no-one expected Opal to be stupid enough to actually try and fight the LEP head on. Besides, they couldn't risk establishing a proper forward operating base unless it was away from prying eyes, so it was a base under the shadows of the mountains or operating from shielded shuttles. It wasn't a hard choice to make.

The base itself was, of course, designed by Foaly, and quite ingenious. During Holly and Artemis's three-year absence in Limbo, the centaur had set about developing a fabric-type material that could switch between being flexible and rigid. The project had been ludicrously expensive, but eventually a success, resulting in a complex polymer with electronic components woven into it. It was light and soft, but could at any time be toggled to harden into a solid barrier capable of absorbing bullets and explosions alike.

Foaly had designed a plethora of temporary "buildings" that could be erected at short notice by LEP operatives. They generally consisted of a metal framework wrapped in smart polymer. The frame gave them structure, while the advanced polymer gave them strength and provided shelter from the elements. They all had modified cam foil beads embedded in the fabric, granting some semblance of camouflage. They weren't invisible, but they were difficult to pick out from a distance, and the modified beads had the advantage of being waterproof, so a simple spot of bad weather wouldn't render them useless.

Within an hour of arrival, the LEP had already established four different temporary buildings: a dormitory, a dining area, an armoury and an operations centre. That would be where planning took place. The structures broadly resembled large marquees, but seemed more permanent, and shimmered in the moonlight as their automatic camouflage did its best to hide them.

Officers were now delivering equipment to where it belonged. Most of the crates were full to the brim with weaponry and destined for the armoury, but there were also computer banks for the operations centre, boxes of meals ready to eat for the dining area and crude camp-style beds for the sleeping area. The entire setup was completed quickly and efficiently; everything had been carefully planned in Haven, with every fairy having a designated role.

Once they were finished, most of the fairies were allowed to go and grab some sleep, but about a quarter were charged with security. Several shielded patrols were sent out to provide early warning of an attack, while others adopted defensive positions in and around the camp itself, weapons up and eyes searching for a target. If Opal was going to hit them head on, they were going to be ready.

Not that anyone actually thought she would. The pixie would need an army to free her future self from within the LEP camp itself. No, Opal wouldn't attempt something as crude and ill-conceived as a brute force attack. She was too clever for that. Wasn't she?

* * *

The night passed uneventfully. Holly, Artemis, Galadhon and the second wave of troops and equipment arrived early the following afternoon in another four shuttles. Galadhon, who had been placed in charge of the operation by K'Azir, was already barking orders as he stepped out into the bitter Siberian air.

Holly hung back in the shuttle with Artemis. Despite Foaly's words of warning, she couldn't bring herself to be suspicious of her human friend.

 _It's Artemis,_ she thought to herself, glancing at the boy. _I know he made some decisions he wasn't proud of afterwards, but I know he would never harm me. Foaly is wrong. My friend is in there, somewhere. All I need to do is find him._

Galadhon paused his string of instructions to turn back to them, gesturing them to get off the shuttle and join him. Artemis seemed reluctant, glancing at Holly for guidance. The elf gave him a reassuring smile and led the way towards Galadhon.

"So what's the situation?" she asked the other captain.

Galadhon looked uncomfortable. "Present day Opal Koboi is due here soon. They're flying her entire cell directly from Atlantis, through the ocean, to the coastline. The armed shuttles here will join them as additional escorts when she surfaces before heading back to Haven."

Holly could appreciate his nervousness. This was by far the most dangerous part of the plan – Opal would spend several hours not contained in a secure facility. And though the waterborne convoy was heavily armed and largely undetectable, it was still a lot less secure than the Deeps. It would be past Opal's best chance to free her future self; once she was in the safety of the base, she would be almost impossible to liberate.

"Are we in contact with the pilots?" The question came from Artemis.

Galadhon barely spared him a glance. "Naturally. They haven't run into any problems so far, but until Koboi is here and secure I won't be happy."

"I doubt she will attempt a rescue from the shuttles," Artemis said softly. "It's too unpredictable. Too much could go wrong."

Galadhon frowned. "What do you mean?"

Artemis shrugged. "There are too many variables. Presumably she would have to somehow disable the shuttle, or board it while it's in flight. What if there was a complication? Her future self would either be crushed under the weight of the ocean, or sent spiralling down to Earth to explode against the mountains. Whether by water or fire, her future would be destroyed. She'll have a plan. A sophisticated one. She won't risk something as clumsy as a hijacking."

"I hope you're right, Mud Boy," said Galadhon. "We're counting on being able to get her here in one piece."

"What then?" asked Holly.

"We improvise," answered the other elf. "Opal will be more or less operating on her own. We have a massive firepower advantage and, essentially, a hostage that she won't risk harming. It shouldn't be difficult to engineer a favourable situation."

As he finished speaking, another LEP officer came rushing over.

"Sir," he said to Galadhon. "Opal Koboi's shuttle and its escorts are approaching the ocean surface. The shuttles here are prepped for launch, just say the word."

Galadhon nodded. "Launch them. I want so much firepower surrounding Koboi that Nexus won't dare to try and touch her."

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed! The action I promised begins next chapter and culminates in the one after. I won't lie, it gets pretty violent – but hey, what were you expecting after Winter of Decay? Violence is kind of my speciality.

Actually, on second thoughts, it's probably not best to advertise that.

Anyway, obligatory plug for reviews – tell me what you thought and all that good stuff.

-Kio


	8. Cursed

**A/N:** Here we go, back to the long chapters that take ages to edit. Sigh.

As promised, this chapter is where the next phase of action begins. As you may expect, the results of Opal's experiments back in chapter three are going to make an appearance here.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 8; Cursed**

 **LEP Forward Operating Base, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia**

Because of its size, Opal Koboi's cell didn't fit in a normal LEP shuttle, so the LEP forces in Atlantis had ended up using a hastily adapted cargo shuttle to transport it. The cell itself was secured in the hold, surrounded by LEP commandos with their weapons trained on the three doors.

The shuttle flew fast and low over the wastelands of northern Siberia, shielded from human eyes by its skin of cam foil. Several heavily armed combat shuttles circled it constantly, invisible arrows doing their best to make it hard for any attacker to get a clear shot at the cargo shuttle.

The pilots stayed in constant contact both with Galadhon's forces at the LEP forward operating base and with Police Plaza. Every minute, they sounded off in sequence, confirming that they were all still in the air and hadn't seen anything suspicious. It would be nigh impossible, everyone reasoned, for anyone to actually hijack the cargo shuttle and rescue Opal.

That didn't stop every single fairy involved breathing a sigh of relief as the mountains concealing the FOB came into view. The LEP had learned the hard way that just because they didn't think something was possible didn't mean someone with Opal's intelligence couldn't find a way to pull it off.

Galadhon couldn't help but smile as he watched the cargo shuttle unshield above the FOB and begin its final descent. He had been far from confident in this entire venture, but he was already starting to feel better now that the most precarious part was out of the way.

Artemis joined him at his shoulder to watch Opal's cell be unloaded. The elf was briefly surprised to see the boy without Holly, but he dismissed the feeling. Artemis's apparent dependence on his elfin friend was none of his business.

"You seem relieved, Captain," said Artemis, a trace of smugness in his voice. "You didn't believe me that Opal wouldn't attempt an attack while the shuttle was airborne?"

Galadhon didn't have time to mess around with Artemis's ego. "Do you have anything of interest to say?" he asked bluntly, his face showing no signs of emotion.

Artemis ignored his tone. "This, of course, leaves the real question unanswered. When actually _will_ she attack? I don't suppose the LEP have had any thoughts…?"

Galadhon gave a noncommittal shrug, but didn't say anything.

Artemis bristled. According to Holly, he was valuable asset to the LEP. After all, they had specifically requested his help. He had been expecting to at least be kept in the loop.

"Excuse me, _captain_ , the sole reason I am here is to offer my intellect and past experience with Opal as a tool to help you defeat whatever scheme she has set in action. I can only do that if I am kept informed of any and all developments."

"I didn't ask for you to be here," said Galadhon, still not looking at him. "If you are required, you will be informed."

Without waiting for a response, the elf set off to ensure that Opal Koboi was secure. Artemis simply stood and stared, too surprised to do much else. He watched as, once it was confirmed that the pixie was still in there, Opal's cell was transferred onto a makeshift cluster of hover trolleys and carried away.

Since their arrival, the LEP forces had been working tirelessly to expand the FOB, constructing a plethora of additional structures. Some defences had even been added; fortified positions with mounted plasma cannons had been established around the perimeter and there were several camouflaged sniper nests in the slopes of the surrounding mountains.

In the centre of the growing encampment stood the largest structure. More permanent and fortified than any of the others, this was to be Opal's new home. As Artemis watched, the pixie's cell disappeared into the structure along with its entourage of guards.

He knew from what Holly had told him that a layer of concrete had been added as a base for the structure, making tunnelling in from underneath it impossible, even if a dwarf was able to navigate the rocky terrain. The cell itself was to be kept under constant surveillance. Artemis had to admit, he didn't see how Opal was going to be able to free her future self.

The camp was a veritable fortress, bristling with advanced technology. It would take hundreds of soldiers to overwhelm it, perhaps even more. Any kind of bombardment to soften up the defences was out of the question because it would risk harming present Opal. Stealth wasn't an option either – even if Opal somehow managed to sneak past all of Foaly's detection measures, the moment she tried to release her future self she would be compromised.

Annoyingly, Artemis was starting to understand why Galadhon didn't feel as though he needed his help yet. As long as Opal was here, the LEP seemed to hold all the cards.

 _Be careful,_ he warned himself, _Opal is not to be underestimated. Just because the LEP seem to hold all the cards, does not mean they actually do. Opal had a reason for setting all of this in motion; she believes she holds an ace that we are unaware of, and she will not play it until she thinks it is too late for us to respond. I must be vigilant._

* * *

"Captain Short."

Holly turned away from the sunset to see Galadhon standing behind her. She raised a questioning eyebrow in response, privately wondering how he had managed to approach without her hearing.

"Opal Koboi has arrived and is secure," Galadhon told her. Holly nodded; she had seen the shuttle land. "I'm taking a team to investigate the village. I'd like you to join us."

Holly frowned. "Didn't Opal say that the village was to remain a neutral zone?"

The other captain shrugged. "We're not going inside, and we'll be shielded. Foaly's pulled a satellite into position to give us a visual, but I want to see it with my own eyes."

Holly understood how Galadhon felt. Seeing something on a screen wasn't quite the same as getting up close and personal.

She smiled. Her day had been an uneventful one, consisting of a long shuttle ride and then sitting around the camp, worrying about what Opal was planning. She wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for a little excitement.

"I'll come. It beats being cooped up around here."

The chosen team was a small one, just six fairies. Holly, Galadhon, another captain she didn't know well, and three sharpshooters that had been commandeered from what was left of the strike team units, all running hot and well-armed. The plan was to travel light by foot, using their shields and the cover of darkness to get a good look at the ghost town without being detected.

Once had Galadhon had updated Police Plaza on the situation, they armed themselves, keyed into a single communications channel and set off. The six disappeared as one as they neared the edge of the camp, fading out of the visible spectrum in perfect unison. Combined with their shimmer suits, they were now completely invisible to both the naked and mechanical eye.

Holly felt a few familiar nerves tugging at her mind. It was same every time she started a new mission. It was almost comforting after all this time. This was what she was born to do. What she loved doing. What she was best at.

Beneath her helmet, she smiled. K'Azir was right. This was the perfect opportunity to sort out of the Opal Koboi situation once and for all. Holly couldn't wait to see the pixie's face just before she was sent back in time after having failed to liberate her future self.

The six ultra-fit fairies quickened their pace once they had left the FOB, comfortably entering a quick jog that was faster than most people's running speed. The distance to their target wasn't a long one – less than ten kilometres. It didn't take long for mountains to give way to foothills, then to flat ground.

They stuck to cross-country, avoiding the few roads that were available. The dry Siberian earth was hard and cracked beneath their feet, but they didn't care. Their minds were all on Opal Koboi.

Once they were nearing their destination, Foaly's voice came over the speakers in their helmets.

"Ranger," he said. _Ranger_ was their call sign for the scouting mission. As she bad been considered the second most senior fairy in the team, Holly had been designated Ranger-Two. "We have you on Scopes. You are approaching target location; you should see it in the distance. Acknowledge."

Scopes was the nickname of the shrouded trackers that the LEP had installed on human satellites, allowing Foaly to borrow them whenever he wanted. All LEP uniforms had trackers that could be accessed from Police Plaza and synched with a live image from Scopes, displaying the LEP operative as a red dot on the screen.

Galadhon squinted into the darkness, just able to make out the silhouettes of buildings.

"Ranger-One acknowledges," he said. "Advise."

"We have no heat signatures in and around the target location, so you should be clear to approach," Foaly told them. "Visibility is poor in this light – advise switching to night vision or thermal optics. Be careful out there, though, we don't know what little presents Koboi has left for you."

Holly's expression was grim as she flicked a switch on her helmet, activating her night vision and bathing the world in eerie green light. The last thing she needed was to step on an anti-personnel mine left behind by Opal and lose both her legs. There were some things that not even magic could fix.

"Copy that," said Galadhon. "We are commencing our approach. Ranger-One out."

The fairies slowed their pace considerably as they drew nearer to their destination. The abandoned mining town was undeniably creepy, especially shrouded by darkness, illuminated only by the sickly green light of their night vision. Half collapsed buildings stood like fallen sentinels at the outskirts of the town, blocking their line of sight into the inner areas.

Quickly but carefully, the fairies crept forward, keeping clear of the road into the town. They spread out into a v-formation, weapons up. Everyone took a great deal of care with each step, keen to avoid any surprises left behind by Opal Koboi. An eerie silence clung to the air, leaving each fairy alone with their thoughts. None of which were very cheerful.

They weren't far from edge of the village when Galadhon spotted the figure on the road to their left, standing at the mouth of the village.

"Contact! Contact!" he shouted into his helmet mic, immediately grateful that its inbuilt soundproofing would prevent his raised voice from carrying. "There's someone on the road. Get down."

The six dropped to the ground as one. It was true that they were shielded, but that didn't mean they were impossible to detect. Better safe than sorry was a mantra that every operative learned early in their career. At least, the ones that were still around.

"Foaly!" Galadhon was saying into his mic. "I thought you said this place was deserted?"

When the centaur's voice came back over their speaker's, his confusion was evident. "We don't have any heat signatures on Scopes. Are you sure there's someone there?"

Galadhon opened his mouth to tell Foaly that of course he was damn sure, but Holly cut in before he had the chance. She was thinking of the goblin revolution several years prior, when Opal had used human fire suits to fool Foaly's sensors.

"With respect, Foaly, it wouldn't be the first time your tech has been foiled by Koboi. Standby, I'll check." She flicked her own night vision to thermal. The figure stood on the road turned grey along with its surroundings, more or less disappearing from her view. She switched back to night vision. "D'Arvit. I don't see it on thermal either. Must be using some kind of camouflage."

From back in Police Plaza, K'Azir, who had no doubt been monitoring everything that had taken place, came over their speakers.

"Copy that, Ranger-Two. Your team is clear to approach and get a closer look, but stay shielded. Do not engage."

"Roger that," said Galadhon, turning to his team. He gestured for them to follow him. "Stay silent. Let's get a closer look at our friend over there."

Catlike, the six fairies crept towards the road. Holly, who was on point, was the first to get a good look at the figure on the road. She could see now that he was tall, and stood with his back to them. It looked as though he had a hood pulled up over his head. He didn't seem to be expecting them.

"Contact appears human," she relayed into her helmet mic, continuing to move forward, weapon up. "And he seems unaware. I have a clear shot, should I take it?"

"Negative, Holly," said Galadhon immediately. "We not engage. We're here purely for reconnaissance." He paused for a moment to think. "If he's just a human, we don't have to worry about him. Let's go around and get a closer look at the village."

But Holly was a lot more interested in the figure up ahead than the ghost town. There was something about the human that was unsettling her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what.

 _He hasn't moved,_ she realised. It was more than that, though. The figure had remained perfectly still, like a statue. And as far as she could tell, his clothes, although a little dirty and tattered, were just regular human clothes. They certainly didn't look capable of masking of his heat signature.

"I don't like this," she said. She wasn't far from the human now.

The hand on her shoulder almost made her jump. "Come on," said Galadhon. "Ignore him."

Holly nodded, making to join the others and head towards the ghost town. But she stayed turned towards the unnerving figure, weapon up, covering it. Just in case. She noticed that she wasn't the only one.

Careful not to make any noise, the team skirted the figure. Holly was the last to pass him, drawing level with him as the others reached the outermost structures of the ghost town. He was barely five metres away now, still utterly still and silent. It was as though he wasn't even breathing.

Holly paused. _It's a cold night. I should be able to see the cloud of breath as he exhales._

Then the figure turned to face her, as though sensing her growing fear. Holly couldn't suppress a gasp as she saw its face.

It was obviously human, but somehow different. The skin clung hideously to its skull, stretched and chalk white. The yellow glow of its sunken eyes was eerily amplified by her night vision.

For an impossibly long second, the two simply stared at each other, the _thing_ seeing straight through Holly's shield. Then it gave a guttural, animalistic scream that was unlike anything Holly had ever heard.

The other fairies spun, weapons up, shouting for Holly to get down. But the elf stood rooted with terror, transfixed by the atrocity facing her.

A neutrino charge caught the figure in the shoulder as one of the other fairies reached Holly, putting himself in between her and the danger. The scream turned to a howl of fury as the laser blast sunk into the figure and it charged forward, moving with incredible speed.

The officer in front of Holly only had time to widen his eyes before it slammed into him, launching him to the ground. It went with him, narrowly avoiding a second laser burst. Climbing on top of the downed officer, it began trying to scratch at his protective uniform.

Released from her trance by the drama, Holly leapt into action, sprinting towards the figure and throwing a hard punch. The fist connected perfectly with the back of its head, knocking it off the fallen LEP officer. Holly stepped forward to deliver another blow, but it had already recovered, now throwing itself at her instead.

The elf saw the movement and made to duck out of the way, but it moved impossibly fast, leaping into the air and smashing into her before she had a chance to react. Holly Short went down, hitting the ground hard. Something cracked. The impact drove all the air from her lungs, and suddenly her desire to fight back seemed to have abandoned her. She could already feel her magic kicking in to heal the broken bones, dulling her senses as it did so.

The thing on top of her slammed down a fist onto her helmet. The reinforced visor held firm, but the impact rattled Holly's brain in her skull. Her vision blurred. She was vaguely aware of someone trying to wrestle it off her, but it was too strong, violently throwing the other fairy off.

It turned its attention back to Holly, clawing at her uniform where it met her helmet, searching for a gap that would give it access to her throat. Through watering eyes, she saw it bare its teeth. She could feel panic starting to take hold of her. She tried to push it away, to fight back, but she was too weak. She didn't even see the twin flashes as it absorbed another two laser bursts.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the ordeal was over. It slumped sideways, apparently dead. Holly saw Galadhon ripping a knife stained with black blood out of its back before reaching down to offer her a hand up. She took a calming breath and tried to collect her emotions and grabbed the hand, pulling herself to her feet.

"What in Frond's name was that?"

The voice came from behind Holly. One of the other fairies. It was shaking. The speaker was scared.

Holly was almost afraid to look at the thing that had attacked them. It wasn't human, she knew that. Not anymore. What had caused the transition to frenzied animal, however, she couldn't even begin to imagine.

"It…" Galadhon started, but then his voice petered out. Holly glanced at him; his mouth was moving soundlessly, as though he didn't have the right words to express what exactly _it_ was.

Before he had a chance to continue, Foaly's voice came over their helmet speakers.

"Ranger! _Ranger!_ Report," he ordered. "What is your situation? Are you under attack?"

Galadhon seemed to regain some of his composure. "We were, but the threat has been eliminated."

"Threat? What threat?"

No-one seemed to have an answer for that.

"I think it used to be human," Holly supplied, her voice quiet. Subdued. "But it was… different." She searched for the right words. "Like an animal. There was no logic to how it attacked. It just wanted to kill me. It was like it was in a frenzy or something."

Galadhon nodded. "It was manic. Crazed. And our weapons didn't affect it." He took a steadying breath and glanced at his recovering team, using the outermost buildings in the village to stand against while they collected their thoughts and healed their injuries. "We almost lost a few there."

Foaly didn't seem to know quite how to respond to this. "That… that doesn't make sense. How can it be immune to a neutrino blast? And how come it didn't come up on thermals?" He sounded oddly outraged, as though the whole thing was an insult to his technology. "There are certain rules for living creatures – it can't just break them!"

Holly finally brought herself to look at the thing that had attacked her. The _former_ human. She looked carefully at the skin, deathly pale and decorated with scars. She thought about how it had stood so still, how she hadn't been able to see its breath.

"Foaly," she said quietly. "I don't think it _is_ a living creature."

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what Holly had said.

"Absurd," said one of the other fairies once he had considered it. "Dead things don't move." He moved over the former human and fiddled with his wrist computer. "I'm sending you a picture, Foaly. Standby."

There was a muted flash from the officer's helmet camera, and he turned back to his comrades.

"So what do we do now, Captain?"

The movement was fast; so fast that even if he had been able to see it, he would never have been able to react in time. The former human's arm shot out, fingers wrapping around the officer's ankle in a deadly vice. With a single movement, it yanked his legs out from under him, bringing him to the ground.

A fairy leaning against the wall of dilapidated a house as he caught his breath was the first to react, sprinting to his comrade's defence. Holly saw the second former human emerging from deeper within the village and shouted a warning, but it was already too late for him to do anything. The second creature leapt into action, slamming into the running elf and grabbing him with both hands. It lifted him off his feet and hurled him back into the wall he had been leaning against a moment before.

The delicate elfin body met bricks with impossible force. Things broke. Not the bricks. It was all Holly could do not to look away as she heard the sickening impact. The officer didn't get back up.

There was a flash of shining steel in Holly's peripheral vision, and suddenly Galadhon's knife was embedded deep in the former human's skull. It stood for a moment before falling to the ground, as though taking a moment to realise that it was supposed to be dead.

 _Dead?_ a voice in Holly's head asked cynically. _If your hunch is correct, it was already dead. How do you kill something that is already dead?_

But there was no time to consider the dilemma. The other former human seemed have learnt from its earlier encounter with Holly; instead of trying to penetrate its victim's protective gear itself, it had a new strategy. It got to its feet and placed a foot on the LEP officer's chest, reaching down and tearing his helmet off.

Holly's realised what was about to happen a moment before it did.

"No!" she shouted, raising her neutrino to fire, knowing it would have no effect, but unwilling to stand by and do nothing.

The former human ignored her, raising the armour-plated helmet high above its head and bringing it down on the officer's now unprotected face like a hammer. There was a splash of blood and an agonised scream. Shrugging off the pair of neutrino bolts that Holly sent its way, the creature raised the helmet for another blow. This time there was a much bigger blood splatter. The screaming stopped.

Holly simply stood and stared, too shocked to move. Her eyes flicked between the bloody mess where there used to be the face of a fellow LEP officer and the former human, the savage _thing_ that was responsible. She knew she should do something – run, fight, anything – but her legs didn't seem to want to respond to her brain's instructions.

Galadhon gripped her arm. "Holly. Get back to the FOB. Now. They have to evacuate and get Opal back underground ASAP – we have _no idea_ what we're dealing with here."

Holly shook her head absently, unwilling to leave him.

"That's an order, Short!" Galadhon turned to the other two fairies that were still standing. "That goes for you as well – get the Hell out of here. Tell Foaly I'm pulling the plug on this whole thing. They have to evacuate the FOB _now_!"

He got three shaky nods and his comrades turned to start sprinting back towards the forward operating base. Galadhon switched his attention back to the former human.

He was rare among LEP officers in that he still carried a real melee weapon – the vicious combat knife that was currently resting in the skull of the other former human. He was the only one of their team that wasn't entirely reliant on the technologically advanced weapons like neutrinos and buzz-batons that seemed to have no effect on the former humans.

Beneath his helmet, he smiled grimly, looking at the hilt of the knife emerging from the former human's body. The only weapon he had was halfway between him and his foe.

"Come on then, you freak," he shouted at the demonic creature, starting to run full tilt at it. If it was surprised by his unorthodox tactic, it didn't show it, doing the same as its target and careering forwards, a shrill screech escaping its lips.

Galadhon had got a slight head start, but the creature was faster. It was going to reach him before he could reach his knife.

"D'Arvit," breathed Galadhon, realising the truth. At the last moment, he ducked low, putting all of his momentum into a brutal shoulder charge. There was no time for the former human to respond, and the impact knocked its legs out from under it.

It stumbled to the ground, landing hard, but immediately scrambled back to its feet, apparently unfazed. Already it was running back towards Galadhon. But the elf had kept moving, ignoring the sudden pain in his shoulder and continuing to its fallen comrade, deftly reaching down to snag the hilt of his knife. Now he clutched the blade ready, braced for combat.

The former human gave no indication that it was afraid of the weapon, sprinting straight at Galadhon. The elf grinned dangerously, waiting until the beast was almost on him before stepping to the side and burying the blade deep in its throat, driving up into the base of its skull. Hopefully, the head wound would be enough for it to stay dead this time.

Even as the body fell to the ground, Galadhon thought he spotted movement in the shadows of the ghost town. He was already running by the time his brain caught up with his eyes – he wasn't keen on the idea of waiting around for reinforcements to arrive.

He ran hard, no longer worried about subtlety, footsteps thundering out as his feet slammed into the pitted tarmac. He couldn't make them out in the darkness, but his heads-up display assured him that Holly and the others weren't far ahead of him. He had to reach them. There was no doubt in his mind that they were being followed, hunted by more of those creatures. He didn't bother looking behind to check. He just ran.

* * *

Holly fiddled with her wrist computer as she ran, re-establishing her link with Foaly.

"Police Plaza, come in," she shouted. "This is Ranger-Two. We have multiple fatalities. We are heading back to the FOB but we'll never make it. We need urgent assistance."

"Holly?" Foaly sounded worried. "What happened? Are you-"

"Later!" the elf snapped back. "Just get us those reinforcements. And tell the FOB to prepare for immediate evacuation. Galadhon's abandoning the operation, it's too dangerous. We have to regroup and respond once we have more information."

All the way back in the safety of Police Plaza, Foaly recognised the tone Holly was using. It was her _lots of people are probably about to die, so do exactly as I say right now_ voice. The centaur didn't have a visual link, but he knew the accompanying expression well. For once, he didn't question what was asked of him. He simply did as he was told.

"Keep going, Holly. A shuttle will be with you shortly, ETA three-hundred."

Beneath her blacked-out helmet visor, Holly's face was a mask of grim determination. Three-hundred seconds. Five minutes and they might just make it.

Another voice crackled over her coms. A far more urgent one.

"Holly, come in, this is Galadhon. I'm not far behind you guys, but those freaks are breathing down my neck. Requesting assistance."

Holly made a split-second decision, raising a fist to indicate that the other officers should slow down. Stopping to help Galadhon would slash their own chances of survival, but she knew she couldn't just leave him. The elf deserved a better death than one at the hands of those… those _things_. Those animals. And he deserved better than being abandoned by his own.

"Roger that, Galadhon, keep running. We'll be in position to assist."

Now that they had stopped, the other two survivors were looking to Holly for instructions. No doubt there were frowns hidden beneath their visors. Holly took a breath, knowing they wouldn't be keen on engaging the former humans again.

"Captain Galadhon's on his way but he's not alone. We need to help him."

"Are you crazy?" exclaimed one of the other fairies. "If he's bringing us company then we need to get as far away from here as possible!"

Holly rounded on him. "Absolutely not an option. One of our own is in trouble; we're going to help him." She could see that they were going to try and argue, but the other captain was lying dead back in the ghost town, meaning that of the three, she was the most senior. "And that's an order. Don't even think about disobeying it."

Perhaps it was Holly's superior rank that made them acquiesce, perhaps it their sense of duty. Or maybe there was a hint of steel in her voice that made her difficult to ignore. Everyone in the LEP had heard about Holly Short's temper.

They didn't have to wait long to Galadhon to arrive. The elf appeared out of the darkness, running full tilt, but the dark shapes behind him were clearly gaining on him.

One of Holly's comrades crouched down at the side of road, grabbing a fist sized rock. He tossed it from hand to hand a few times, feeling the weight of it. He smiled. The other fairy did the same, arming himself with a small chunk of concrete, presumably left behind decades ago when the road was under construction. Holly herself didn't have time to find anything more substantial than her fists.

Galadhon had almost reached them now, and the former humans were only metres behind him. Now that they were closer, Holly could get a better look at their approaching adversaries. There weren't many, but it would still be more than enough to kill them all if they weren't careful.

She adopted a combat stance. "At least five contacts," she said into her helmet mic. "We strike hard and fast, on my mark." She waited until Galadhon was less than a metre away from them before giving the signal. "Mark!"

The three fairies surged forward, meeting the oncoming creatures with the speed and aggression that Holly had ordered. The speed and aggression that might save their lives.

The fairy on Holly's left was the first to make contact; taking advantage of his and the nearest creature's combined momentum, he lashed out with the rock in his hand. The stone smashed into the former human's jaw with incredible force. Skin and bone came apart with sickening crunch. The creature went down and didn't get up.

To her right, Holly saw the other fairy attempt something similar, but he missed his target and ended up colliding with the former human itself. She saw the pair roll of the side of the road, but there was no time to focus on it. She concentrated on the former human she was running at, preparing to strike. Once it was close enough, she leapt into the air, bringing up her foot and sinking it into the creature's chest.

The target was relatively soft, but the velocity of the impact still sent a sharp pain jarring up Holly's leg. The former human was launched back, colliding with another.

Holly glanced around her, searching for another target. She had counted five – four were occupied, for now at least – but where was the fifth? Then she spotted it, face down in the dust, a knife hilt protruding from under its jaw.

"Didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you?" said Galadhon from behind her.

Holly smiled, but didn't respond – the two former humans she had knocked down were already returning to the fray. Galadhon retrieved his knife as they approached and moved to engage them. Holly went with him, knowing that taking them both on would be a challenge, even for him.

"I'll take the left one," called Galadhon. Holly nodded even though he was in front of her, readying herself to take on the other former human. She bent low, bringing up her armoured shoulder and ploughing into it, bowling it over.

In her peripheral vision, she caught a glimpse of Galadhon easily dispatching his target, slashing at the former human's throat before ducking behind it and burying the knife in the back of its head. Once it was down, he ran straight over to Holly, using his knife to finish of the one she had just brought down.

Both fairies turned to see how their comrades were fairing. The final creature had one of the fairies pinned to the ground and was desperately trying to pierce his uniform, but as Holly and Galadhon watched, the fourth surviving member of their team intervened, bringing the sharp edge of his rock down with all of his strength on the creature's head. It didn't offer much resistance. There was a splatter of black blood and it went down, the rock lodged inside the top of its skull.

"Everyone OK?" called Galadhon as they all surveyed the now calm scene. Except from Holly, who was looking behind them.

"Guys," she said quietly into her helmet mic. "We need to run. Now."

The other fairies didn't bother asking why. They had just seen what Holly had been looking at. The night itself almost seemed to be moving, seething with dark shapes. The former humans were just shadows in the darkness at the moment, but their outlines were growing clearer with every second that passed. They were getting nearer. And there must have been at least fifty of them.

No more words needed to be said. As one, the fairies turned in the direction of the forward operating base and starting running as fast as they could. They knew it wouldn't be enough.

The former humans gained quickly. Whatever conversion the humans had undergone seemed to have granted them enhanced speed and strength, and the fairies, despite their remarkable levels of fitness, were finally beginning to tire after all the night's excitement. Not to mention that a human's legs were a lot longer than an elf's.

It wasn't long before Holly could hear footsteps on the road behind her. She didn't bother wasting time looking behind her, instead focusing all her efforts on keeping moving as quickly as possible. There was a scream from behind her as a former human got a grip on one of her comrade's shoulders, dragging him back into the horde.

Every part of Holly wanted to turn back, to try and help, but she knew she couldn't. All she could do was keeping going. The other officer was likely already dead.

Then the shuttle unshielded in front of them, a hulking metal teardrop aimed straight at them.

"Get down!" Holly yelled into her helmet mic, knowing instinctively that it was the right thing to do. The three remaining fairies dived to the ground as the night exploded in brilliant orange light. Holly felt the heat of the fireballs even through her insulated LEP suit; she felt the shrapnel scrape at her uniform but thankfully fail to penetrate.

Another series of thunderous explosions shook the earth as the shuttle unleashed another salvo of plasma rockets. Then another. And another. Then an earie silence descended over the settling debris.

Holly waited a few seconds before raising her head and surveying the utter destruction that had been left behind. The shuttle pilot hadn't been taking any prisoners – huge chunks had been torn out of the road and in some places the ground was even slick was partially melted tarmac. Rubble and the odd limb littered the scene, but there was no movement. It seemed as though the onslaught had at least dealt with the former humans.

Holly took a shaking breath and got to her feet as the pilot turned around the shuttle so they could get on board. She wanted to be sick. She couldn't help but be reminded of the aftermath of her brief kidnapping at the hands of Amber's henchmen a month ago. Foaly had left such a trail of death and destruction in helping to rescue her that she had been disgusted.

She didn't know what the former humans were. She didn't even know if they were really alive. She didn't know if they felt pain. But it still felt somehow wrong to slaughter them like that. To rip apart their bodies and distribute the pieces among the smouldering wreckage.

"Come on Holly," said Galadhon from behind her. He tried to lay a calming hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off, still appalled by the devastation before her eyes.

"Holly," Galadhon repeated, the urgency in his voice growing. "We have to go. Now. Come _on_."

Reluctantly, the elf allowed herself to be led onto the hovering shuttle, but her thoughts remained on the sickening scene outside. On the three officers that hadn't made it back. And on Opal Koboi, who was no doubt responsible.

* * *

 **A/N:** So now you have some idea what Artemis and Co. are going to be up against if they want to stop Opal. In TLG, Opal gets herself an army by using an ancient ritual to resurrect fairy warriors who then inhabit the bodies of people or animals in and around Fowl Manor, including several corpses. As usual, I wanted to take inspiration from that, but give it my own flavour. Opal has her army, but in a very different way.

And before anyone asks; no, the "former humans" are nothing as cliché or vanilla as zombies or anything like that, although I concede there are certain similarities, especially in appearance. Although it will be explained later exactly what they are, I refer to them as "former humans" or just "formers" here and in the following chapters because that's what Holly calls them, and because guessing that they used to be human is pretty much all the information the characters have about them.

You can probably guess what happens next chapter. Needless to say, the action continues, and then something pretty monumental happens ;)

Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you thought if you want, I always love reading the reviews you guys leave :)

-Kio


	9. Outnumbered

**A/N:** More action, more explosions, more violence. Oh, and something really important that happens at the end. Enjoy!

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 9; Outnumbered**

 **LEP Forward Operating Base, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia**

The atmosphere in the shuttle had been bleak. Galadhon had spent most of the journey in calls, either organising the evacuation of the FOB, or with K'Azir, explaining the increasingly desperate situation in Russia. Holly hopped out of the shuttle as soon as it touched down, one goal on her mind.

 _I want to see Artemis. He'll make me feel better._

She ignored the voice of reason that told her that he still wouldn't remember her, which would likely only make her feel worse. She ignored Foaly's warning that he wasn't yet the same Artemis she remembered, and set off to find him.

Holly had only heard snippets of Galadhon's conversation on board the shuttle, but it was enough for her to know roughly what was going on. The present Opal Koboi was going to be accompanied back to Haven by the rest of the LEP forces, where she would later be picked up by Atlantean shuttles and returned to the Deeps. Until the evacuation could begin, her guard in the FOB would be doubled.

There was no reason that it wouldn't work. Apart from the voice in the back of Holly's head telling her that Opal was coming, and that whatever they did, it wouldn't be enough.

 _We were supposed to have every advantage. Even Artemis said so._

She shook her head, trying to clear the negative thoughts. Artemis would be in the command building; she was sure of it. She just needed to reach him. She wasn't sure what comfort she was expecting from him, just that she was expecting something.

* * *

There was no warning for the attack. One moment, the world was still, the next, sinister silhouettes of former humans dominated the mountains around the LEP base. Opal Koboi was doing the one thing that the LEP had never even considered she would do – she was going to fight them head on.

The myriad of advanced sensors had picked up nothing. According to the screens in the command building, there were no heat signatures closing in on them. No heartbeats. But the base was alive with shouts of enemy contact, and the night was lit up with gunfire.

The formers surged down the mountainside towards the FOB. It was only as they drew closer that the LEP forces realised quite how many there were. Hundreds. Maybe even thousands. A few of the defenders were already starting to panic, abandoning their posts to avoid the seething mass of creatures rushing towards them.

It quickly became clear to the LEP forces that their neutrinos were having no effect – the figures simply absorbed the laser bursts and kept coming. The mounted plasma cannons were more effective. Unlike the neutrinos, which fired a soft laser burst designed to stun, the cannons fired balls of superheated high-energy plasma that ignited on impact.

The resultant explosions were capable of tearing apart several former humans each, inflicting heavy casualties on the horde, but the creatures were still coming thick and fast. It wouldn't be long before they got into the camp.

The entire base was on alert. Some officers had immediately grabbed a weapon and gone to defend the exterior; others were busy equipping themselves with some more serious firepower, explosives being the preferred option. Several of the remaining shuttles were already preparing to launch so they could provide overhead fire support.

The shuttle that had delivered Holly and what remained of her team was already flight worthy and so was the first in the air, climbing to about fifteen meters off the ground and laying down fire. But the former humans were coming from all sides – there was no way for the LEP pilot to target them all.

It wasn't long before the first formers reached the outer defenders. The mounted plasma turrets were difficult to aim at close range, and the gunners had no way to intervene as their exposed comrades, many of them armed only with neutrinos, were literally torn apart. The casualty rate was high and immediate.

By this time, two more shuttles were airborne, joining the first in providing air support. The pilots' radios were already alive with chatter as they agreed between themselves who would cover which area of the camp.

With three heavily armed attack shuttles helping to coordinate the defence and the arrival of reinforcing LEP officers, now fully equipped from the armoury, the tide of formers making it to the base began to subside. But there were already a good number inside the camp itself, causing havoc and killing anything in their path.

Several of them headed straight for the rest of the grounded shuttles, intent on preventing them from launching. It was an easy target – the engineers were focused on preparing the shuttles for flight, and they weren't well armed. They didn't stand a chance against even a few of the creatures, let alone the twenty or so that were headed for them.

One of the shuttle pilots realised what was happening and swung his craft around to assist, but he was just a hair too late to take a safe shot – there were too many friendlies near his targets.

"D'Arvit," he swore under his breath.

But as it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered. On the ground, some of the engineers were turning around to face the oncoming formers. One already had his neutrino sidearm drawn. He didn't think. He simply saw the monstrosities running at him and acted out of fear.

He fired.

It was a mistake. Anyone will tell you that lasers and aviation fuel aren't a good mix. His shot missed its target, instead meeting a stack of fuel barrels. The resultant fireball engulfed not only several of his comrades, but also the nearest grounded shuttle, immediately detonating its payload.

The chain of explosions continued to the other shuttles like a sickening domino effect, blasting apart anything in its path. There wasn't much left by the time the flames began to die away; the LEP fleet lay smouldering, completely destroyed. There would be no evacuation, and only three shuttles to provide air support.

At least the formers didn't survive the inferno.

* * *

Holly was torn. A large part of her wanted to rush to the frontline and help fight off the wave of former humans, but her rational side insisted that it wouldn't help. She had no weapon besides a neutrino that she already knew was useless, and she wasn't exactly in the best physical condition at the moment.

But the logic didn't stop her feeling guilty as she continued towards the command building, away from the action. Away from her dying comrades.

The LEP communications being broadcast over her helmet speakers were a mess to say the least. Mostly it was just screams and yells for help, but there were genuine attempts to coordinate a defence as well. Not that it made easy listening.

"Looks like the medical centre has been overrun," said a calmer voice. Holly guessed it was one of the pilots, using his aerial position to convey information. "Those things are all over it. Preparing to fire; danger close. Anyone still alive in there, please acknowledge."

The background chatter continued over the airwaves, but Holly didn't hear anyone saying they were still alive in the medical centre. Anyone inside was either dead or too badly wounded to respond.

"I repeat, any personnel still in the medical centre, please acknowledge." The pilot paused again, his digital crosshair hovering over the overrun medical centre. "If you're still inside, your service will be remembered."

Holly felt the ground shake as the salvo of rockets annihilated the makeshift hospital. Heard the earthshattering sound as the superheated plasma ignited, ripping apart metal and flesh like paper.

 _If you're still inside, your service will be remembered._

She felt sick to her stomach. Her military side knew it made sense – the risk of friendly fire made eliminating the formers already inside the base difficult, so the pilot had chosen a target crawling with enemies that was unlikely to contain any LEP officers. At least, any surviving LEP officers.

But _unlikely_ wasn't good enough. As she made her way across the camp, Holly couldn't help imagining a fairy trapped in there, wounded and alone, being killed by their own.

Trying to push the image to one side, Holly continued fighting her way through the sea of chaos to the command building. Pushing her way in, she quickly identified Galadhon and went over to him.

"Sitrep?" she asked.

The other captain barely spared her a glance. "Bad. Very bad. I don't think we can hold the base – we have to get Opal out of here before she's compromised."

Holly nodded, understanding immediately. Whatever those creatures really were, there was no doubt in her head that they were the creation of past Opal, here to free her future self.

"She's under guard?"

Galadhon nodded distractedly. "Got some officers outside, but I'm not sure they'll make much difference if those _things_ reach her. I was going to have someone inside to watch her, but I haven't got around to it yet and we're short on numbers-"

"I'll go," interrupted Holly, glad of the opportunity to feel useful. "I'll take Artemis and watch him too," she added, noticing the human boy sat in a corner, looking highly uncomfortable with the situation. "I doubt he'll be much use here."

Grateful for the offer to get the Mud Boy out of his way and have eyes on Koboi, Galadhon gave another quick nod before heading off to continue desperately trying to organise the defence.

"Artemis," Holly called urgently. "With me."

The human didn't need telling twice. Holly's was the only friendly face in the chaos. And while Artemis had been told about the incredible adventures he and Holly had been on, that was a very different thing to being able to remember actually experiencing them. Right now, he felt like he was only two days old, and he was in the middle of warzone.

There was no way around it. Artemis Fowl was scared. He was trying to hide it, but the truth was etched in his eyes for all to see.

Allowing himself to be led to the exit of the command building, away from the computer banks and the hubbub of activity, he asked Holly where she was taking him.

The elf tried to respond, but the sudden noise as they stepped out into the night stole away her words. The organised defensive perimeter had completely fallen apart at this point, and the whole camp had descended into a battlefield. Fighting was everywhere, and the sounds of shouts and explosions were almost deafening.

"Sorry?" shouted Artemis above the din.

"Opal!" Holly yelled back. "We're going to watch Opal."

The elf toyed with the idea of visiting the armoury to collect something with a little more power than her neutrino, but she thought better of it. Even if there was something usable left there – which seemed unlikely – getting there would be dangerous, especially with Artemis completely unable to defend himself. It was more important that they get to Opal and watch her in case her past self used the battle as a distraction to attempt a subtle rescue. That kind of smoke and mirrors stunt was exactly her style.

 _Yes,_ said a cynical voice in her head. _Opal is the one you're worried about. I'm sure your haste has nothing to do with wanting to get Artemis to safety._

"Quiet!" she hissed to herself, the noise of battle easily drowning out her voice.

They kept low as they crossed the battlefield, moving as quickly as they could while doing their best to avoid stray fire and hoping that a former human didn't decide to interrupt their relatively short journey.

Despite the danger, Artemis couldn't help looking out into the action around him. His eyes locked onto a distant silhouette, floating a few metres above the ever-increasing mass of former humans. He could just about make out a female figure and pointed ears. Opal Koboi.

As if knowing she was being watched, Opal chose that moment to act. She summoned her magic, feeling the power surge down her arm into her open hand, forming a crackling ball of electricity. Fighting to keep hold of the energy in her hand, she aimed at one of the hovering shuttles and let go.

The lightning bolt arced across the sky, striking the shuttle head on and exploding against the front of the cockpit. The blast killed the pilot instantly and disabled most of the shuttle's major systems. The metal teardrop careered to the side, slamming into one of other shuttles before crashing to the ground. The shuttle it had collided with followed a few moments after, landing only about twenty metres away from them.

Artemis stood stock still, staring at Opal with a mixture of shock and awe.

"Come _on_ , Artemis," Holly shouted, grabbing his arm. But before they could get going again, the remaining payload of the crashed shuttle near to them ignited, a series of brilliant explosions that lit up the night. The shockwave knocked both Artemis and Holly off their feet.

Sweating from exertion and the heat of burning plasma, Artemis tried to pull himself to his feet. He glanced around for Holly, but the elf was already up and yelling at him to follow her. At least, he assumed she was. He couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears.

Ignoring his blurring vision, Artemis staggered towards her. Everything around him was fire and combat; it struck him that he felt even more alone than when he had first awoken, stuck in the middle of a warzone, surrounded by destruction. He knew that the LEP were no friends of his, not really, and Opal's army would kill him on sight. He was completely on his own.

Apart from Holly.

He kept the elf in vision as he fought to keep pace with her. The journey felt like it lasted a lifetime, but eventually they stumbled out of the worst of the chaos, out of the smoke and flames, into the centre of the base. The building containing Opal's cell stood directly ahead of them, surrounded by a small screw of LEP guards. Weapons were trained on Holly and Artemis the moment they came into view.

Artemis was already too scared to be further worried by this development. He fell to his knees, taking gasps of clean air.

"Stand down!" Holly was shouting. "This is Captain Short, now lower your weapons."

Somewhat reluctantly, the defenders did as they were told. Holly reached out and grabbed Artemis's wrist, pulling him towards the building. One of the guards made to block them from entering, but Holly shouted him down. She was a Captain, after all, and Galadhon had approved her request to take Artemis and watch Opal. Technically.

It was only once inside, with the sounds of battle somewhat muted, that Holly paused to take stock. Next to her, Artemis was slumping against the wall, obviously exhausted. It seemed as though his adrenaline was running out, and the strain of running through a battlefield was catching up with him.

"Holly," he said, his voice shaking slightly. The elf didn't blame him; she was a professional police officer, and she was a little shaken herself. Despite all her years in the LEP, Holly had never experienced anything quite like the hell outside. And Artemis didn't even remember their other adventures. He didn't remember all the impossible things they had survived together. Right now, he was just a boy miles out of his depth.

"It's OK, Artemis," she said softly, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. "I'm here." She gave his hand a little squeeze. "It's normal to be scared, but we'll be fine. You might not remember, but this isn't the first time we've been in a tight spot."

Artemis shook his head. "It's not that." He smiled weakly. "OK, it is partially that. But there's something else. I can't really explain it, but I think something bad is going to happen."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "Really? What gave you that idea?"

"I don't mean Opal. I think something else bad is going to happen."

The elf frowned. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I," replied Artemis, attempting a nervous smile. "At least, not really. Call it a bad feeling."

Holly's frown deepened. It wasn't like Artemis to place much stock in _feelings_. He generally thought they were irrational.

Sensing her confusion, Artemis made to change the subject.

"So," he asked. "What happens now?"

"Difficult to know. Hopefully the LEP can repel the former humans, but in the meantime, we need to keep an eye on Opal." She motioned him to follow her deeper into the large structure, through claustrophobic passageways, towards Opal Koboi's cell. "Come on."

"Wait a minute," said Artemis as he started after her. " _Former_ humans? Can you elaborate a bit?"

Holly shrugged and carried on moving. "Not easily; I don't pretend to understand what they are."

"But you called them former humans."

"They attacked me and Galadhon when we went to scout out Opal's exchange point. They look like humans, but different. Like something corrupted them. And according to Foaly's scanners, they had no heat in their bodies and no heartbeats. It was like they weren't alive."

"That's not possible. Dead things don't move."

 _Funny,_ thought Holly bitterly, _that's exactly what one of the fairies with me said. He's dead now._

But out loud she didn't say anything. She just shrugged again.

"Interesting," observed Artemis. "You don't agree." He raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't suppose zombies are well known to the People and you just forgot to mention it?"

The elf treated him to her most scathing look. "Don't be ridiculous. There's no such thing as zombies."

This time it was Artemis's turn to shrug. "I was just thinking that they fit your description of the former humans."

The boy adopted a contemplative look as they reached the centre of the structure and stopped before Opal's cell. The whole place was eerily empty.

"Why isn't there anyone here defending her?" he wondered aloud.

"They wouldn't stand a chance against those creatures inside," answered Holly. "They're fast, and strong. And immune to most of our close quarters weapons. Any defenders would be overpowered in seconds in these narrow corridors."

"Then why are we here?"

"Someone should keep an eye on Koboi." Holly spat the name. Even if Artemis hadn't known about the history between the two of them, it would have been hard not to notice Holly's hatred. "Plus, I wanted you in the best defended location. If Opal gets her hands on you after you humiliated her at Fowl Manor…"

The elf didn't finish the sentence, but Artemis could guess the kind of things Opal would want to do to him. Though he didn't remember the pixie, he did remember the stories Holly had told him about her. Opal Koboi seemed to be about as deranged and sadistic as they came.

The elf tried to collect herself. When she spoke again, it was with the same iron determination that made her such an excellent police officer, but try as she might, she couldn't quite hide the fear in her eyes.

"I won't lose you again. Whatever it takes, I won't let it happen."

She half expected Artemis to make a sarcastic comment, to mock her for her vulnerability – certainly the old Artemis would have done. But the boy in front of her just cocked his head, a curious expression forming on his face.

"You really care, don't you?"

Holly was shocked by how surprised he seemed. "Of _course_ I care."

The boy frowned. "Why? From what you told me, all I've ever done if cause you problems."

"Because…" She stopped, whatever reason she had been going to give dying in her throat. She tried again, but the only explanation that occurred to her was the truth. She realised that she couldn't avoid it forever. "Because I l-"

A sound from behind them made her spin, her neutrino already in her hand and ready to fire. If a former had manged to get in, she knew the weapon would be useless, but against anyone else, it would remain highly effective.

A girl wrapped in figure-hugging black combat gear stepped out of the shadows. A _human_ girl, with the unmistakeable cross of twin swords strapped to her back. Surprise briefly flitted across her pretty features as she noticed Holly and Artemis, but then her eyes narrowed.

"There wasn't supposed to be anyone here apart from Opal." She spoke perfect English, but the Russian accent was undeniable. It was exactly as Holly remembered. "You two really do delight in causing people inconvenience, don't you?"

Holly wasn't interested in trading insults with the Russian girl. She just levelled her neutrino at her and flicked the setting up a few notches, hatred in her eyes.

"Natalya," she spat. She looked her opponent up and down, her gaze resting on the gun strapped to Natalya's leg. "Go on," she added, smiling viciously. "Give me a reason to hurt you. You know I want one."

Artemis closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. His vision had started to blur again, and a vicious headache was setting in. It was almost as though his grip on reality was starting to slip. He opened his eyes and tried to take in what was going on, but his gaze was inexorably drawn to the Russian girl. The more he looked at her, the more the real world seemed to drift away from him.

Doing his best to hold onto reality, he reached out a sweaty hand, stabilising himself against the wall. There was something terrifyingly familiar about the Russian girl.

But there was something more than that. That strange feeling at the back of his mind was growing more intense again. He still couldn't explain it. It was like there was something in his head that didn't belong there. Like something that wasn't part of him had latched onto his mind, and now it was getting stronger. Now it was starting to hurt him.

As though something inside him was screaming.

 _That girl,_ he thought, closing his eyes in a desperate attempt to focus. _I know her. I've seen her before._

But where? A single word from the conversation she was having with Holly pierced the mental haze separating him from reality.

Natalya. The girl from his dream. The girl that Holly had told him about. The girl that had been working with Amber.

Disjointed images flashed through his mind. Natalya hurting Juliet. Natalya hurting Holly. Natalya shouting at him. And there was a voice, too. A Russian voice whispering to him. It took a moment for him to realise it was inside his head.

 _Submit to me._

Artemis felt dread worming its way deep into his consciousness.

 _Submit,_ the voice repeated. _Submit to me._

"No," Artemis muttered, feeling the madness attacking his mind. _It's her_ , he realised. _Somehow, this is all because of her._

Oblivious to Artemis's internal struggle, Holly was still focused entirely on Natalya, her grip on her neutrino not wavering.

"How did you even get in here?" she asked.

Natalya's eyes flicked between Holly and Artemis, her expression calculating.

"I walked in. It's amazing how unobservant people can be when there's a battle to be fought. I hardly even had to kill anyone."

"Your weapon," said Holly. "Draw it from its holster and drop it. Slowly. Any sudden movements and I shoot, understand?"

Glaring daggers at the elf, Natalya nodded. She knew the drill. Taking care to move slowly, she did as instructed, using her thumb and little finger to pull the Sig Sauer 9mm handgun out of its cradle. She opened her grip, letting the weapon clatter to the floor. The sound echoed eerily in the silence.

"Good girl," said Holly, loading her voice with condescension. "Now, kick it towards me, and we can have a nice little chat. There are a few questions I'd like to ask you, such as how exactly you are alive."

Natalya reached out a foot and kicked the gun away from her, but instead of skidding towards Holly, it came to rest at Artemis's feet.

"Why don't you ask him?" She nodded in Artemis's direction. Still using the wall for support and visibly shaking, the boy didn't even seem aware of what was going on. "Oh, of course. He doesn't remember anything, does he?"

Holly furrowed her brow. "How do you know about his memories…?" She kept her weapon trained on Natalya, but looked more closely at her human friend. "Artemis? Are you alright?"

He didn't respond, but it was obvious that he wasn't. Holly turned her attention back to Natalya.

"What have you done to him?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the fury in it was unmistakeable.

The Russian girl just shrugged, her superior smirk back in place. "I was rather hoping not to have to reveal this ace so early, but I suppose it is unavoidable."

"Don't play games with me," warned Holly, her hands starting to shake slightly as she gripped her weapon even tighter.

Natalya ignored her. "Fowl," she called dispassionately. "Pick up the gun."

The words seemed to permeate the mist shrouding Artemis's mind, calling him back to reality. For a moment he seemed confused, but then his eyes rested on the Sig Sauer pistol at his feet. Without thinking, he stooped down and picked it up with trembling hands.

"Artemis, what are you doing?"

The boy gave no indication that he had heard Holly's words, or if he had, that he cared. He just stood there, staring at the gun in his hands without really seeing it.

Natalya smiled. "Good." She nodded at Holly. "Now kill her."

The elf gave a nervous laugh. "Don't be ridiculous." But as she spoke Artemis a quick step forward and pointed the gun at her chest.

"Artemis…?" There was fear in Holly's voice now. "What in Frond's name do you think you're doing?"

"I said kill her," ordered Natalya, growing frustrated with the delay.

"Artemis," whispered Holly. She was vaguely aware that she needed to act, that she should stun Natalya and, if necessary, Artemis as well, but her brain didn't seem to be working properly.

All she could think of was the face in front of her. A face she had thought she would never see again. And now, the face of a man pointing a gun at her. But even as he prepared to end her life, Artemis's expression was colder than she had ever seen. Utterly devoid of any emotion, as though he didn't even know what he was doing.

She realised that she was crying. She didn't know how long she had been. Nor did she want to. The tears on her cheeks were unwelcome. She tried to move, but her body wasn't responding.

"Artemis," she begged "Please…"

Down the barrel of Natalya's pistol, Artemis looked at the elf before him. Her pleading eyes. Her tears. She seemed familiar. The thought cut through the haze separating him from reality. His eyes widened, as though really seeing Holly for the first time.

"Holly?" he asked softly.

The elf smiled through her tears. "Yes, Artemis. It's me."

"Very touching," interrupted Natalya coldly. "But ultimately irrelevant. Artemis, shoot her. Now."

Artemis frowned, fighting the voice inside his head telling him to do exactly as Natalya instructed.

"Why?" he asked. It was a genuine question, directed more at his own mind than anyone in the real world. "Why does she have to die?"

"It doesn't matter!" Natalya shouted. "Because I say so, isn't that enough? You don't get to question me. You obey."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

Artemis clenched his teeth, his grip on the Sig Sauer now visibly shaking. His resistance was clearly hurting him.

"I. Said. No."

Natalya opened her mouth to voice her indignation, but Holly spoke first.

"You know," she said. "You do really do disgust me. I didn't think much of you before, but working with Opal Koboi? I didn't think that _even you_ would sink that low. Wasn't Amber psychotic enough for you?"

A look of hatred flashed across the Russian girl's face. "Work _with_ her…?" She shook her head. "Never mind. It doesn't matter what you think of me. Fowl. Kill her."

Artemis focused every shred of his sanity on trying to resist the voice in his head screaming at him to pull the trigger, but even as he fought to keep his finger still, he could feel it begin to pull back. Feel the pressure between skin and metal increasing.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" he shouted. He could feel desperation setting in. He focused on Holly's face, sensing memories hidden deep within his mind struggling to break free.

"Kill her. Do it."

He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the darkness fighting to dominate him from within. Splintered images started to flash through his mind. Shattered memories.

 _He was standing over the unconscious form of an elf in a muddy field, noticing how pretty she was. It took him a moment to realise it was Holly._

 _Now she smiling at him, and he was holding a coin with a perfect hole in the centre. The coin he had found in his pocket upon awakening. It was still warm._

" _Keep it," she was saying. "To remind you that deep beneath the layers of deviousness, there is a spark of decency. Perhaps you could blow on that spark occasionally."_

Artemis grimaced in pain as his mind tried to process the images, tried to reconcile the fond memory of Holly with his newfound need to kill her.

 _Holly was smiling at him. "Yes, Artemis. This is goodbye, for the last time."_

 _Now she was crying. Crying because her long-time mentor and friend, Julius Root, was dead. Murdered by Opal Koboi._

 _Now she was holding his head in her hands, gazing into his eyes. His now_ mismatched _eyes. And he was looking back, seeing a perfect mirror of his own eyes in hers._

 _Now she was crying again, but this time it was for him. She leaned over him, her tears dripping onto his shirt. "Of course I saved you. I couldn't do without you."_

The tirade of fractured memories continued to grow, all melding into one stream of data.

" _You cannot escape! Don't you understand?"_

" _Your father. Is he like you?"_

" _Now we're even."_

" _Give yourself a few years. You'll get there."_

" _Nobody's that perfect. That's how I knew."_

" _Aren't we allowed any secrets?"_

" _I remember. You saved me."_

" _Extinctionists! Artemis, you didn't. That's horrible."_

" _No. I'm lying. Not nice, is it?"_

" _Twelve again, are we?"_

" _I'll hate you for whatever reason I want."_

" _You talk about that monster like he's another person. Don't kid yourself – that person is you."_

" _You're not alone. You have me."_

Artemis blinked away tears, desperately trying to shut out the pain. To disregard the voice demanding that Holly die. To break Natalya's dominion over his fragile mind. But he was fighting a losing battle. He was no longer in control.

" _Because I love you."_

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry about the cliffhanger. Actually, no, that was a lie. I'm not sorry. I'm evil like that.

Mwahahaha.

Did Artemis really just shoot Holly? And if Natalya isn't working with Opal, just what exactly was she doing trying to get into her cell? Find out next chapter! Also, as Artemis began regaining his memories here, the next chapter will include a flashback of the end of Winter of Decay, except from Artemis's point of view, including an explanation of how exactly he managed to escape the Nebula Facility.

Well, anyway, the end of this chapter was pretty exciting to write, and I would love to hear what you thought ;) It's a little abstract in places, so I played around with a few different concepts and memories, but I like the way it ended up. Bonus points if you recognised all of Holly's lines that Artemis remembers (although I would forgive you for not recognising the last few, as they're from Winter of Decay.).

-Kio


	10. Revelations

**A/N:** Ever wondered what really happened at the end of Winter of Decay? How Artemis and Natalya managed to survive? Well, look no further than this chapter! It's another long one, and it was super fun to write, so I hope you enjoy :D

(Proof-read when I'm super tired – it's like 3am in the UK right now – but I wanted to get this out today. Sorry in advance for any typos I missed. Feel free to call any out if you review, but then again, it isn't your job to fix my mistakes for me. Still, it would be helpful.)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 10; Revelations**

 **LEP Forward Operating Base, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia**

The bullet entered Holly's chest at over a thousand miles an hour, instantly piercing her LEP uniform and tearing through her body. Skin ripped. Bone shattered. It exited her back a fraction of a second later, leaving a huge rent where there used to flawless skin.

Borne aloft by the sheer impact, the elf's tiny form stayed in the air for a sickeningly long second before slamming into the wall behind her. There she lay, frail and limp, with magical sparks already dancing around the wound.

Artemis fell to his knees, too drained to stay on his feet. The whole world seemed to melt away until there was only Holly. Slumped against the wall, drenched in her own blood, unmoving, she looked more vulnerable than Artemis would ever have imagined was possible. She was normally so full of life, so indestructible.

 _This isn't right. This isn't how it was supposed to go._

He tried to open his mouth, to speak as he watched Holly's life drain away. He wanted so badly so explain that he had tried to resist, that he was sorry, but he could already feel his body shutting down. The strain his mind had just undergone was simply for too much for it to handle and it was resetting.

The boy didn't try to fight the blackness starting ebb at his vision. In fact, he welcomed the numbness. Because anything was better than staying where he was, watching Holly die. Knowing he was to blame.

Artemis never felt Natalya place a hand on his shoulder as he slipped into unconsciousness. He never saw her retrieve her Sig Sauer from his limp grip, and never heard her whispered apology, so soft it was almost lost in the distant sounds of battle.

* * *

Galadhon had known something was wrong long before he stepped into the room. Neither Holly or Artemis had answered their coms, and he could only find one plausible explanation: they couldn't. It immediately became a priority issue. If something had happened to them, that likely meant that Opal was being freed.

He had gone straight to Opal's cell, flanked by LEP soldiers and with a warlock in tow. As he entered, he saw Artemis's slumped form first, then Holly, bloodied and lifeless. In the back ground, the door to Opal's cell was already open.

"Help her!" he shouted to the warlock, waving in Holly's direction. He gestured to the other soldiers. "With me. Weapons ready."

With Galadhon taking point, the small LEP force stormed into the cell, weapons up. Galadhon's eyes flicked around the small room, quickly checking every corner for hostiles. As expected, there were none.

But much to his surprise, the cell was not empty. Galadhon had assumed that Opal would already have escaped, but Koboi was still there. The pixie lay in the middle of the cell looking oddly peaceful, a dribble of blood leaking from the neat hole in her forehead.

"D'Arvit," Galadhon breathed. For perhaps half a minute he stood frozen, trying to compose himself. Unsure. Then he was back to usual detached self. "Come on, we're going. Now."

He led the others back outside the cell. The warlock was still tending to Holly.

"Will she live?" Galadhon asked.

The warlock gave a noncommittal shrug. "Probably," she said. "But I don't know what state she'll be in if she wakes up. Even if her magic repaired her body in time, that doesn't mean her mind is still intact."

 _Well,_ thought Galadhon, _tough. I'm sorry, Holly, but we don't have time for anything better. We need to get out of here. Immediately._

He chose two LEP officers at random and ordered them to carry Holly and Artemis. As soon as the crew made it outside, Galadhon was hailed by another LEP captain.

"Sir. Those things have fallen back."

Galadhon almost allowed himself a small smile, but then he remembered the number of casualties they had already sustained.

"We beat them?" he asked, raising a cynical eyebrow.

The other captain shook his head. "Negative, but we put a dent in their numbers. It looks like they're regrouping; though how those creatures are capable of making organised military decisions is beyond me. Either way, our defences are shattered. When they attack again, we're all dead."

Galadhon had a pretty good idea how the creatures were making decisions – or rather who was making decisions for them. He'd seen past Opal Koboi out on the battlefield earlier, launching lightning bolts at the shuttles. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the whole thing had been a set-up and that she was somehow controlling the former humans. The pixie had never cared about any kind of trade; she had only ever wanted her future self out of the deeps, knowing that no matter how well-guarded she was, the defenders could be overwhelmed by the former humans.

The elf looked out at the devastation. Almost everything lay in tatters. Bodies – human and fairy – littered the camp. He looked out at the LEP forces that were still alive, all looking to him for leadership.

"Prepare to retreat. We're getting the hell out of here."

"But sir, we don't have any shuttles. And what about Opal?"

Galadhon gave a bitter laugh. "Opal's dead. Forget her. We go on foot. Use moonbelts to carry the wounded. Leave everything else. Understood?"

There were slightly grateful nods from around the band of survivors. They had been worried that Galadhon would want them to stand and fight. It wasn't that they were keen on running away, but it was undeniably their only option. There was no doubt in any of their minds: if they faced the formers again today, there would be no tomorrow. For any of them.

* * *

At first the creatures had repulsed Opal. The Mud People were bad enough already, but the _former_ humans, the Fallen, with their glowing eyes and mottled skin, were infinitely worse. But over the last few days, they had begun to grow on her. She couldn't really explain why, but she found herself feeling… at home with them. Like they were family.

She waited patiently as one of the creatures stumbled towards her. It only had one arm and there were plasma burns all across its face and chest, but if the gruesome wounds were painful, it gave no indication.

It made a guttural sound, indicating that it wanted to communicate with her. The Fallen were only capable of extremely limited speech – the odd word here and there – but passing on a complex message was beyond them.

Opal sighed and reached out with her magic, sensing the parasite living inside the human body, forging a link between the two of them so it could communicate without needing to speak.

" _Mistress,"_ it whispered to her. _"They retreat. They fear us. They fear the darkness."_

Opal sighed again. So melodramatic. And what was that grammar? She shook her head. It didn't matter. The LEP were retreating, that was the important thing. Soon, her future self would be liberated.

"Come," she ordered aloud. The formers that had been guarding her instantly fell in behind her step. The pixie smiled to herself – she had been hoping something like this would happen. Her small army had been taking serious casualties, so she had ordered them to fall back and regroup. It wasn't like she couldn't replenish those she had lost, but it would have taken time. It was much better to let those LEP fools stew for a little while. With any luck, they would realise they were horribly outnumbered and cut their losses.

After only moments, Opal reached her vantage point, looking down over the wrecked LEP encampment. Her smile widened – it was little wonder they had decided to retreat. Their base lay in ruins. In fact, she found that she was a little sorry to have missed most of the action. But after bringing down the LEP's air support, she had known she needed to get clear of the battlefield. A warzone was no place for a queen, after all – she might get hurt. And Opal Koboi was far too important to risk getting hurt.

Even as the pixie watched, the survivors were beginning their retreat. With no shuttles left intact and not enough time to secure extraction from Haven, they were heading out on foot with the wounded – at least, those that could be found at short notice – carried on moonbelts.

 _They are retreating on foot,_ thought Opal. _They are literally running away. From me!_ She let out a girlish little laugh. _Oh, how the times have changed. And this is only the beginning. Soon, I will crush the entire LEP beneath my boot and the no one will be able to stop me from establishing my future self as empress of the world. Then I can return to the past, safe in the knowledge that my future is one of complete domination._

Opal's keen eyes quickly picked out Artemis Fowl in the retreating crowd. The boy looked unconscious. _What happened to you, Mud Boy?_ she wondered. _Did one of my minions get to you? Or was it something else?_ Opal's eyes flashed viciously. _Whatever it was, I hope it hurt. A lot._

But there was something even more interesting about the retreating LEP forces than Artemis Fowl.

"My future self is not with them," she observed. "Curious." She gestured to the nearby formers. "Twenty of you: follow them. It's possible they are concealing her beneath cam foil or some other such trickery. Everyone else, by my side. Let's check the cell. Perhaps they left her behind in an attempt to guarantee safe passage back to Haven."

Once they reached the edge of the destroyed camp, Opal decided to levitate herself a few feet off the ground. It wouldn't do for someone of her importance to suffer the indignity of getting her boots covered in blood and ash. This way, she didn't have to carefully avoid the dead fairies and mutilated formers that were strewn throughout the wreckage.

Much of the base was still aflame, and Opal had to hold her breath to avoid the wretched stench of ash and burning flesh as they made their way to the building that housed her cell.

She wasn't quite sure what it was, but Opal could almost sense that something was wrong as she strode through the corridors towards the centre of the building. Towards her future self's cell. She knew her intuition was right the moment she saw the blood all over the floor outside the cell.

Heart in her throat, Opal took a few careful steps forwards so she could see past the open door, into the inside of the cell. When she saw what lay there, she felt an emotion she was entirely unfamiliar with.

Emptiness. Complete and total emptiness that threatened to consume her.

That was it. Her future was gone. Dead. Lying in its own blood. A single clean shot to the head from a human gun, and her future self was dead. The LEP had murdered her. It was the only explanation – they had known they could no longer keep her in chains, so they had murdered her.

Everything became suddenly clear to Opal. She now knew that she would never achieve any of her aims, she would never realise any of her dreams. How could she? Her death was inevitable. Not even she could reverse this. She no longer had a future – the LEP had taken it from her.

All her hope, her dreams, her ambition, abandoned her, leaving only hatred. She didn't know how long she stood there, staring at the dead pixie. At her future. Slowly, the hatred and the anger built until they consumed her completely.

 _The LEP took everything from me. Now, I will take everything from them. I will burn their world to the ground._

* * *

 **Location Unknown**

" _Because I love you."_

 _Him pulling the trigger. Holly's body being tossed aside like a ragdoll, bloody and broken. Holly lying there, unmoving. Dead. Murdered by him._

 _And that voice. Natalya's voice._

At last, the final barriers in Artemis's mind began to break down, unable to deny him the truth any longer. Memories no longer came in disjointed flashes. They came in full.

 _Artemis glanced at the countdown. A little over six minutes. Not long now. He laid the other communicator on top of the console and waited, trying to keep the rising fear at bay._

 _It didn't take long for an incoming call to flash up on the communicator display. In spite of the emotions churning inside him, Artemis reached out a hand and picked up the device._

" _Fowl." The voice was Holly's, exactly as he had known it would be. "You have one chance to explain yourself."_

 _It took Artemis a moment to respond. "Holly, I'm so sorry. If there had been any other way, believe me…" He broke off for a moment, but then he composed himself. He had to make her understand. He had to_. _"Holly please, forgive me. I can't abort the launches. It isn't possible. When the timer reaches zero, Amber's system will send the signal to fire. I can't stop that, unless…"_

" _Unless what?" Holly's voice was suddenly nervous._

" _Unless there isn't a system to send the signal anymore. If I initiate self-destruct, then the transmission will never be sent."_

" _Wait a minute," Holly said, confusion evident in her tone. "Where are you? Please tell me you're not still down there."_

 _Artemis paused. When he spoke again, his voice was soft. Apologetic. "Amber was paranoid. I need special authorization – which I don't have – to initiate self-destruct, unless there is an emergency lockdown in progress. And during lockdown, there is no way in or out of the facility."_

 _Holly's response was immediate. "No. You can't do this. I won't let you."_

 _Artemis took a breath. He wanted nothing more than to let the elf dissuade him, but he knew he couldn't afford to. He had to be strong. It was his only option. "It's the only way. I have to do this."_

" _You have to do it?" shouted Holly, incensed. "Artemis Fowl makes choices for everyone as usual."_

 _Artemis hid a grimace, even though Holly couldn't see him. The elf wasn't wrong. "Perhaps," he said. "But this time I am justified by circumstance."_

" _No. Forget it, Artemis. It's not happening."_

" _It has to happen. Perhaps in time, with resources, I could develop an alternate strategy…"_

" _Develop an alternate strategy? This is not a corporate takeover we're talking about, Artemis. This is your life. What about your family?"_

" _Either I initiate the self-destruct or my family dies, Holly," Artemis reminded her. "They won't miss me if they are vaporised by a bio-bomb."_

" _Fine then. What about me?"_

 _For a time, Artemis said nothing. When he found his voice, the sadness in his tone was unmistakeable. "Holly, I owe you everything. Because of you, I have my family. You showed me the value of friendship, and you taught me to do the right thing. I was a broken boy and you fixed me. Thank you."_

 _Holly didn't respond, but Artemis could feel her desperation. Feel her getting close to breaking point._

" _Fly away, Holly," he continued, struggling to keep his voice even. "Please don't allow yourself to be caught in the explosion. I want you to live; I want you to be happy. That is my last wish."_

" _You can't do this," Holly shouted. Artemis could hear that she was crying. "You can't."_

" _Why not? We both know it is the only way."_

" _Because I love you."_

 _Artemis was lost for words. What could he say? I love you too? Hardly. He was about to die. They would never see each other again, never have a chance to be together. It would be cruel to give her that hope, knowing that nothing could come of her love. She would be alone. He wouldn't make it any worse for her that it already was._

 _He wished there was another way, but he knew there wasn't. At times, he had dared to dream that one day, they might have a future together. But now he understood that it had only been a fantasy. A hopeless dream that would never be realised. Because some part of him had always known that it would end this way._

 _He and Holly had chosen dangerous lives, chosen to be the ones standing in the way of whatever evil threatened their world. But they could only save the world so many times. Eventually, death would catch up with one of them. They had dodged so many bullets together; it had only ever been a matter of time before one found its mark._

 _That was all there was to it. He and Holly hadn't chosen lives that would let them be happy. They had chosen to try and be heroes instead. Why? It was obvious why Holly had – it was her whole character – but why him? But he knew the answer to that as well. Holly. He had wanted to join her on her journey. Wanted to be with her, even as just a friend, even though a part of him knew that this was where it would inevitably end up._

 _And if he had his time again, would he make different choices? Even as his last minutes ticked away, even as he stared into the abyss, the final darkness, he knew the answer was no. He wouldn't have changed a thing._

" _Artemis," Holly begged. "Artemis please."_

" _In another time, Holly," said Artemis, grateful that the elf couldn't see the tears flowing down his cheeks. He reached out a shaking hand and ended the call. There was nothing more he could say._

 _He glanced again at the countdown. Four minutes and it would all be over. There was nothing to do now but wait._

" _Be calm, Artemis," he whispered aloud. "There is nothing to fear."_

 _But even as the words left his mouth, there was movement outside the ops booth. The DNA cannons' stun effect was wearing off Amber and Natalya. Both were getting to their feet, shaking off their grogginess._

" _Fowl!" Amber shrieked, instantly livid. "How dare you-"_

 _She never finished the sentence. The sword blade emerging from her throat made sure of that. She spluttered for a moment, frozen in place, but then Natalya ripped the sword out and let the centaur fall to the ground._

 _The Russian girl took a step towards Artemis and placed a hand on the ops booth window. She smiled playfully._

" _Alone at last," she said. "She was rather annoying, wasn't she?"_

 _Artemis didn't respond. He couldn't. He was too busy staring in horror at Amber's corpse, at the pool of blood that was already forming around what was left of her throat. The apparent indifference with which Natalya had killed her was scary._

 _Natalya opened her mouth to ask Artemis where Holly was, but she was interrupted by an automated announcement coming over the speakers in the Nebula Facility._

" _Warning," said a lazy female voice. "Self-destruct in two hundred and ten seconds."_

 _The blood drained from Natalya's face. Her normally pretty features twisted in fury._

" _What have you done, Mud Boy?" she screamed. "What the fuck have you done?"_

 _Artemis would have expected to feel satisfaction seeing Natalya panic, but now that it came to it, he could find only pity for her. She was in the same boat as he was, and he understood exactly how she felt. But he gave no outward sign of sympathy. He just shrugged casually. "It was the only way."_

" _The only way?" Natalya shouted back furiously. "The_ only way _? You stupid Mud Boy! Everything was in place! And you've ruined it. Ruined everything." She took a shaking breath. "You're going to kill us both."_

" _For what it's worth, I'm sorry that you have to die," Artemis began. "I didn't want it this way, but-"_

 _Natalya rounded on him before he could finish. "Oh, you're sorry, are you? Well that makes everything fine."_

 _Artemis sighed, unsure why he was bothering to justify himself to her. "You have to understand that-"_

" _Shut up! Just stop talking, alright? I'm trying to think. Don't you dare disturb me."_

 _Artemis watched curiously as the Russian girl paced up and down outside the ops booth, taking calming breaths. There was another automated warning, this time for one hundred and eighty seconds. Three minutes to live._

 _Natalya spat a curse in response, but carried on pacing for another few seconds before turning back to Artemis. She walked up to the ops booth, resting both palms on the window._

" _OK, Artemis," she said, her voice considerably calmer. "Open the doors."_

 _Artemis raised an eyebrow. "And why would I do that? So that you can exact your revenge before we die? I don't think so. I have no wish to spend my last moments in pain."_

" _Listen to me, you stupid little boy. We're dead in_ minutes _unless you do exactly as I say."_

" _What do you mean_ unless _?" said Artemis, frowning. "The lockdown and the self-destruct are irreversible, I'm afraid. I made sure of that, in case I changed my mind."_

 _But Natalya was shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. There is a way out, even under lockdown." Artemis didn't respond, but Natalya could sense his uncertainty. She decided to try something else. "Don't you want to see Holly again? I've seen that way you look at her. I know you don't trust me, but I'm your only chance of ever seeing her again."_

 _Artemis hesitated. Could it be true? Could there be a chance to see Holly again? To be with her? He almost didn't dare to hope, but he couldn't stop himself. And while it was true that he didn't trust Natalya, surely there was at least an outside chance she was telling the truth? If he was right, she had saved his life in France. Besides, didn't he owe it to Holly to at least try?_

" _Warning. Self-destruct in one hundred and twenty seconds."_

 _Artemis raised his head and looked Natalya in the eye. "Start talking."_

" _This entire place used to be a fairy fort, and that means there's chute access. The chute itself fell into disrepair and was closed off a hundred years ago, but it's still there. Right beneath our feet, in fact."_

 _Artemis didn't know how Natalya was planning to use get into chute, or what they would do then, but it sounded like a start. At the very least, it was more than he had had a minute before, so he made a split-second decision. He slapped the button to release the doors and Natalya rushed into the ops booth. He tensed, but the Russian girl didn't try to hurt him, instead moving straight to the console and starting to tap keys furiously._

" _I know some of Amber's codes," she explained. "Hopefully I can…" She smiled triumphantly. "I've given myself clearance. Come on." She grabbed Artemis and pulled him towards the ops booth exit. "This way."_

 _Artemis had no idea what she was going to do, but he didn't dwell on it. Together, they ran out of the ops booth, towards one of the far sides of installation. Once they reached it, Natalya immediately went to a computer panel built into the wall._

" _Natalya," she said, enunciating clearly, and followed up with a long and complicated code. When she had finished, a huge section of the wall started to retract, revealing an enormous hanger. Several prototype attack shuttles stood in the gloom, waiting to be unleashed._

 _Artemis's mouth dropped open. "How did you…?"_

 _Natalya winked at him. "Lockdown only prevents you leaving the facility, not from accessing the other areas. This place is a lot bigger than you'd initially think. Amber really was ready for war."_

" _Warning. Self-destruct in sixty seconds."_

 _Natalya gave a grim but determined smile that reminded Artemis oddly of Holly. She grabbed him again and dragged him over one of the shuttles._

" _Get in," she ordered. Artemis didn't need telling twice; it seemed as though, despite his doubts, Natalya actually had a plan. Maybe he really would get to see Holly's face again…_

 _The two went straight to the cockpit and Artemis strapped himself into the co-pilot's chair. Natalya didn't even bother with the harness as she lowered herself into the pilot's seat; she was already steering the shuttle to the hangar's exit into the Nebula Facility's main chamber. A single look at her face told Artemis not to speak – the Russian girl was utterly focused. Breaking her concentration now could be fatal for them both._

 _Natalya was an extremely talented pilot, but she only had limited experience flying fairy shuttles. Far too little for what she was going to attempt. Then again, there was no amount of experience in the world that could really prepare someone for flying a heavy-duty assault shuttle inside the confined Nebula Facility under serious time pressure._

 _Flicking on the thrusters, Natalya lifted the shuttle off the ground. There it hung precariously, pointing vaguely at the exit._

" _Thirty seconds," muttered the Russian girl. They could no longer hear the automated warnings from inside the shuttle, but evidently she had been keeping count. "Here goes nothing."_

 _She almost managed to thread the needle and pass straight through the opening. Almost, but not quite. Instead, she caught the lip with the side of the shuttle. Metal crumpled, Plexiglas shattered, and fibre-optic cables snapped. Sparks showered down. The shuttle's armour plating screeched in protest, but held. Just._

" _Come on, cyka!" shouted Natalya as she wrestled with the controls, dragging the shuttle through the opening. As soon as they were clear, she slammed on the brakes. "Twenty seconds."_

 _She was well aware that she was only going to get one, maybe two shots at this. Then they were dead. With no time to aim properly, she pointed the shuttle's payload roughly at the ground farthest away from them and pressed down the triggers._

 _Twin plasma rockets streaked out from the underside of the shuttle, arced downwards and slammed into the floor of the Nebula Facility. The entire installation shook. Flames enveloped everything, including the shuttle, but the armour took the punishment well. Even so, in such an enclosed space, the impact of the explosion almost knocked them out of the air. As it was, they were lucky. The shuttle was slammed backwards into the wall behind them, but remained airborne._

 _Even after the flames had cleared, there was no way for them to see through the smoke and debris, but the shuttle's on-board computer was set to automatically map its surroundings. One glance at the display was enough to tell them that there was no breach._

" _Don't fail me now," whispered Natalya as she prepared to fire again. Normally they wouldn't have had a chance, but the weapons she was playing with were designed by Amber herself and packed a hell of a punch. Even so, nothing was certain. Natalya knew that part of the Nebula Facility was nestled into the edge of the old chute beneath the fairy fort above, but she didn't know if it was even possible to break through the fortified outer shell without nuclear weapons._

 _She took a breath and pressed down the triggers again. Exactly as before, the two rockets exploded against the reinforced metal with brilliant purple fireballs. Again, flames swirled around them and debris rained down. But this time, some of the falling wreckage was falling out of the Nebula Facility into the massive chute below. They had managed to fracture the artificial ground! Their one chance of escape now stood exposed._

 _Natalya didn't waste time on celebrations, though. She was far too focused._

" _Ten seconds," she said aloud, and switched on the thrusters. She nudged the shuttle closer to the opening for a few seconds before she felt ready to make a run through it._

 _Artemis took a deep breath and held it, grateful that he was strapped in. Salvation was in sight, but it was going to be close. The opening was a lot narrower than he would've liked – it was technically wide enough for them to fit through, but there wouldn't be much room to spare. He couldn't help thinking that Natalya's flying would have to be perfect._

 _Natalya was thinking the exact same thing as she opened up the throttle. The shuttle lurched forward into the breach, but she was a little too far to the right. With an ear-splitting screech of metal tearing, the shuttle's exterior scraped against the edge of the opening. Everything attached to that side of hull was torn off, but then they were clear, accelerating into the blackness._

 _A second later, the high explosive charges buried around the Nebula Facility all ignited simultaneously, detonating with the force of several thousand tons of TNT. Rock was instantly liquefied to lava, metal crumpled like rice paper and everything else was simply vaporised. The massive fireball surged towards the path of least resistance, which was, of course, down the chute. Straight after Artemis and Natalya. It was followed closely by a cascade of half-molten debris and falling rock as the unstable chute began to collapse._

" _Out of the frying pan…" muttered Natalya, accelerating harder while using her free hand to strap herself into the harness. Artemis glanced at her and was impressed to discover that she somehow looked even more determined than before._

 _The flames reached them quickly, engulfing the shuttle. There was a series of terrifying cracks as various components lost their battle against the intense heat, but the shuttle stayed intact, and then the firestorm was gone._

 _But there was still a torrent of rock and debris bearing down on them._

 _Artemis ran some mental calculations. With their engines, they should be able to outrun the deadly avalanche, even in freefall. But according to Natalya, the chute had been closed off a hundred years ago when the fort above had been abandoned. It was only a matter of time until they hit a dead end and were crushed under several thousand tons of rock._

 _Natalya seemed to have reached a similar conclusion. "Any bright ideas, Mud Boy?"_

" _Do we have a map of the chute?" he asked, but he wasn't hopeful. The People weren't in the habit keeping maps of abandoned chutes._

 _As expected, Natalya shook her head. "Why?"_

 _Artemis shrugged. "If there was a bend ahead, it's possible that the avalanche could get delayed or even halted." He paused to think for a moment. After a moment, an idea came to him._ Why not? _he thought._ If it worked once… _"Do we have any more rockets?"_

 _A slow smile spread across Natalya's pretty features. She turned to him. "I like the way you think," she said. There was a hint of something in her voice that Artemis had never heard before. It could almost be classed as warmth. "Yes, we've still got plenty of rockets. You think we can punch a hole in the LEP's blockage?"_

 _Artemis nodded. "I don't know exactly how they seal off old chutes, but I can't imagine it's especially permanent."_

" _I hope you're right," replied Natalya, opening the throttle even wider. They would need to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the wall of death that was chasing them if they wanted time to try and break through whatever lay ahead of them._

 _Speech was no longer an option for Artemis. It was all he could do to keep his last meal inside him. They were so close to surviving; to fail now would just be cruel. Before, he had just about started to believe that he really would get to see Holly again, and now he clung to that hope, using it to sustain himself._

 _The walls of the chute shot by them at impossible speeds, jagged outcrops of rock all blurring together like an impressionist painting. Still the shuttle gained speed, slicing through the darkness, desperately trying to escape the collapsing world above it._

 _An alert blinked up on the digital readout warning them that the computer had detected an obstacle up ahead. Natalya started to decelerate and began arming a volley of plasma rockets. The sheer rock face rushed up to meet them, illuminated an eerie yellow by the shuttle's headlights._

" _Quickly, Mud Boy," said Natalya, turning to Artemis expectantly. "Where do I shoot?"_

 _Artemis scanned their surroundings, acutely aware that for every second he spent looking, they were one step closer to annihilation. The rock face directly below them was smooth was looked for all the world like a continuation of the chute's natural walls, except horizontal instead of vertical. Artemis felt panic starting to claw at his insides. What if they had miscalculated? What if the chute ended in a natural dead end? But then he looked more broadly, and noticed that on one side, the chute wall was all broken up. It was almost like it had been formed by a cave in a long time ago…_

 _Artemis's eyes lit up. Perhaps it was caused by a cave in. An_ artificial _cave in. What if the LEP had blocked up the chute by collapsing it when it splintered off into a narrow horizontal tunnel? That would certainly have been the easiest way to make sure it didn't see future use._

" _There," said Artemis, pointing at the broken rock face. "Fire there."_

 _Natalya didn't bother asking why – the cascade was far too rapidly approaching them for that. She just pressed down the triggers for a third and final time, sending two more plasma rockets into the cliff face._

 _Artemis held his breath. If the LEP had been thorough and collapsed the tunnel in more than one place, then they wouldn't be able to clear a path before they were crushed under a few thousand tons of rock. But if they hadn't, with a little luck, he and Natalya might just make it._

 _The two rockets exploded in spectacular fashion, sucking the limited oxygen in the chute into the fireball and spitting out a deadly hurricane of shrapnel. Razor sharp shards of rock embedded themselves in the shuttles exterior, but despite leaving a few serious scratches, none managed to punch through the cockpit's reinforced canopy._

 _It was impossible to see anything through the debris, but Natalya didn't wait for it to clear – she knew there wasn't time. She glanced at the shuttle's dashboard, but there was too much debris in the way for the computer to map the area ahead. She would have to fly blind._

 _She opened the throttle wide and the shuttle shot towards where the missiles had exploded. Either there was an opening to soar through, or they would smash into the unyielding rock and both be instantly killed. It didn't matter which; if they didn't move now, they would be crushed like a tin can by the deadly avalanche above._

 _Artemis braced himself as the shuttle entered the cloud of dust and debris. He could see absolutely nothing of the world outside the shuttle. All he could do was hope and pray. Pray that luck was on his side. In spite of everything, he smiled. He was due some luck._

 _Even through the shuttle's extensive soundproofing, they could easily hear the earth-shattering sound as the avalanche slammed into the bottom of the tunnel. The shockwave hit their shuttle and knocked it slightly off course, but Natalya managed to wrestle back control relatively quickly. A moment later, they shot out of the dust cloud, giving them a clear view of the tunnel they were now in._

 _Artemis and Natalya both let out a breath they didn't realise they had been holding. Neither could help but smile a little at their success. In theory, the tunnel they were in would connect to the normal network of chutes that the People used. If all went well, they could be back on the surface in a few hours._

" _We made it," said Artemis._

 _Natalya nodded, too exhausted to quite speak yet. For a few minutes, they both just sat there, enjoying the fact that they were alive. But Artemis still had a question to ask._

" _Natalya," he said hesitantly. He wasn't sure if that was her real name, but it was the best he had. "In France, did you save my life?"_

 _The Russian girl turned to him, calmly appraising him. After a moment, she nodded._

" _Why?" The question was out before Artemis could stop himself._

 _Natalya looked away. "It's complicated."_

" _I'm a genius._ Complicated _is my speciality."_

 _For the first time since Artemis had met her, Natalya gave a genuine laugh. It was a pleasant sound._

" _I thought you would be more useful to me alive than dead, and…" she said, but then she hesitated. "And I have a certain… respect for your achievements. I didn't think it would do to let you die like that."_

 _Artemis was surprised. He hadn't thought that Natalya respected anyone. Nevertheless, the first part of her answer was far more curious._

" _I don't understand. How would I be useful to you?"_

 _Natalya laughed again, but this time there was no warmth. Her features had rearranged themselves back into her usual cold expression. It was as though she had used up her humanity for the day._

" _Enough," she said simply. She spoke calmly, but the finality in her tone was unmistakeable._

 _Artemis decided not to push it. Why Natalya had saved him wasn't important, not really. What mattered was that he was alive. All he wanted now was to go home. To reassure his family that he was OK, and to see Holly again. To tell her that he felt the same way as she did._

" _So what now?" he asked._

 _Natalya released herself from her pilot's harness and turned to him, an apology in her eyes. In that moment, Artemis knew exactly what was going to happen, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He didn't stand a chance against the Russian girl even on the best of days, but certainly not when he was still strapped into the co-pilot's chair._

 _Natalya took a quick step towards him and buried her fist in his stomach. Artemis cried out, instantly winded. He tried to raise a hand to protect himself, but Natalya was already on top of him, pinning his arms with her thighs and wrapping a hand around his throat. Artemis tried to gasp for breath, but Natalya's grip was like iron. It didn't take long for him to surrender to unconsciousness._

* * *

 **A/N:** In accordance with the whole _alternative to TLG_ thing I've got going on here, the escape from the Nebula Facility was (at least in part) inspired by TLG, specifically the bit where Holly smashes up an LEP shuttle port trying to manoeuvre the _Cupid_ through it during a lockdown. I even borrowed a few lines from Colfer for authenticity, just like with the conversation between Holly and Arty before he tries to sacrifice himself. Speaking of which, I hope you enjoyed that from Artemis's POV. I hope that I got his response to Holly admitting that she loves him right and that his thoughts felt in character.

Anyway, as I said in the author's note at the start, this was one of the most fun chapters I've written. I really enjoy writing Natalya (probably in part because she's my character rather than anyone else's), and writing her and Artemis as a team was interesting to say the least. I'd love to hear what you thought! Tell me I suck at proofreading or whatever, I don't really mind, I just like hearing from you guys :)

-Kio


	11. Forgiven

**A/N:** Time for some questions to be answered, I think, such as exactly where Artemis was during his month of absence in between this story and Winter of Decay. Oh, and someone asked on the previous chapter if Natalya had magic; I would have responded in a PM, but they were a guest, so I'll reply here and say that yes, she does. It's quite a major point in this chapter, actually.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 11; Forgiven**

 **Location Unknown**

Artemis woke to a vicious headache, but he didn't care. He was back. He could feel it. The boy sat up in bed; he was still a little groggy, but that didn't stop him from smiling a little. The memories were new, but they sat right in his mind. They felt like they belonged. Which, of course, they did.

Still looking uncharacteristically cheerful, Artemis took a moment to appraise his new surroundings. He was in a small but relatively empty room; there wasn't much furniture apart from the bed he was sitting in, there were no decorations on the walls and there were no personal touches to speak of.

It occurred to him that the chair seemed awfully small. As did the bed, now that he thought about. Even sat up, his feet were almost dangling out of the end.

 _I must be in a fairy dwelling,_ he realised. It was the only explanation for the undersized furniture. But then he looked around the room again, his gaze settling on the window, and he frowned. Blue sky and real sunlight were clearly visible – this was nothing like the scene he had seen through windows in Haven. A fairy dwelling on the surface? Was that even possible? If so, to whom did it belong? And how had he come to be here?

Artemis's frown deepened as he tried to access the right memory. Complete recall had left his mind a little disjointed, as was often the way. Suddenly confronted with fifteen years of memories, the brain tended to struggle to place them in exactly the right order at first.

Something had happened, he was sure of that. The only question was what. Something to do with Natalya? No, that wasn't it. His dealings with the Russian girl had been before his memory loss.

Then it hit him. A single word.

 _Holly._

Everything fell into place. He had shot her. Killed her, most likely. He had seen the wound – the 9mm round had ripped a huge hole in the elf's chest. Even with magic, Artemis didn't exactly favour her chances with an injury like that. And he was the one who had pulled the trigger. The one responsible for her death.

Holly. Gone. The thought was intolerable. Holly couldn't be dead. She couldn't. Not now that they had finally found each other again. Not by his hand. He tried to suppress the shame, but he couldn't quite manage it. He was weak. Natalya had hijacked his mind and forced him to shoot Holly, and he had been too weak to stop her.

Too weak to save Holly.

Artemis tried to pull himself together. There was nothing to be gained from just sitting there, indulging his self-pity. He resolved to try and do something useful instead. Figuring out where he was seemed like a good start.

Pulling away the covers, he found that he was still wearing the suit he had been wearing in Russia. It was muddy, bloody, torn and crumpled, but it was still better than the jeans and t-shirt he had been wearing when he had first awoken after losing his memory.

Artemis took a few experimental steps towards the door and grasped the handle. As soon as he opened it, he found himself looking down a pair of neutrino barrels. The two elves holding the neutrinos were clad in LEP uniforms and looked as though they were guarding his door. They didn't seem happy to see him trying to leave.

"Back inside," snarled one, taking a threatening step forward and placing the barrel of his weapon up against Artemis's chest. He would normally have gone for the forehead, but the human was a bit too tall for that. It sort of ruined the menacing effect.

Artemis ignored the display of hostility. "Where am I?" he asked, sounding more confident than he felt.

"I'm afraid that's classified, Fowl," said the other guard, his tone more peaceable than his partner's.

Artemis wasn't to be deterred. "What about Captain Short? Where is she? Is she alive?"

The first guard broke into a slow smile. "Your little assassination attempt didn't go quite as planned, I'm afraid. An officer as beautiful and capable as Captain Short wasn't going to be killed by the likes of _you_ , Mud Scum."

The other guard rolled his eyes. "We need to have a chat about your crush on Holly Short at some point, Derek," he muttered. "It's not appropriate."

Artemis hid a grin as the first guard went bright red. Suddenly, _Derek_ didn't seem quite so intimidating. But more importantly, Holly was alive. He hadn't managed to kill her. Perhaps she would hate him, but at least she wasn't dead.

"Wipe that smirk of your face, Mud Boy," Derek growled, desperately trying to reclaim the hard man points he had just lost. "Or I'll wipe it off for you." He hefted his neutrino suggestively.

Artemis just rolled his eyes and turned to the other elf. "Is she here? Can I see her? I know you probably don't believe me, but I never wanted to hurt. I need to at least tell her that."

The elf regarded him for a moment, as if deciding what to make of him. Of course, he knew all about Artemis Fowl – who in the LEP didn't? – but the guilt-ridden boy before him wasn't much like monstrous schemer described in the reports about the Artemis Fowl incident.

"That's up to her," he said eventually. He grabbed a communicator from his belt. "Captain Short? Artemis Fowl is awake. He's asking for you."

Artemis couldn't hear the response, but he was hopeful. Holly must have seen that Natalya was manipulating him, surely she would at least give him a chance to explain himself.

The guard listened for a few moments before putting away the communicator.

"You're in luck, Mud Boy," he said. "She'll be up in a moment."

Holly deliberately didn't look at Artemis once she arrived upstairs, instead addressing his two guards.

"You can go," she said simply. Derek went slightly red again and looked like he wasn't quite up to speaking in Holly's presence, but his partner was more talkative.

"Are you sure, Captain? With respect, the last time the two of you were alone, you almost died."

Still avoiding looking at Artemis, Holly sighed. "With _respect_ ," she replied scathingly. "I'm a Captain. You aren't. That means you get out of my way when I tell you to."

The other officer gave a shrug as if to say " _not my funeral"_.

"Just call if you need anything," he said, and turned to go. Derek followed, grinning awkwardly at Holly as he passed her.

Holly kept her eyes fixed on the pair as they disappeared downstairs, still steadfastly refusing to make eye contact with Artemis.

"Holly," the boy began. He knew from the way Holly was acting that he was only going to get one shot at this, and that he was lucky to be getting even that. "I remember you. I remember everything. I'm so glad you're alive. I saw your wound and I… I thought the worst. I certainly didn't think you would be completely healed so soon. Not that I'm not pleased," he added quickly, aware that he was babbling. Emotional displays had never been his strong suit. "It's just… I was worried, alright? I was so worried."

Holly didn't turn to face him. "What do you mean _soon_?" she asked coldly, ignoring his admission of vulnerability. "It's taken me almost three days to recover."

Artemis frowned. One of his newfound memories flashed through his mind. _Three days. We've had you on drip for over sixty hours… until you told us everything we needed to know._

 _Oh the irony._

"I've been out for three days…?" Holly gave a single nod, still facing away from him. "No, that's not acceptable. You should have found a way to wake me. Opal will already be making her next move! She will have a huge head start. We need to act _immediately_ if we are to save lives-"

He trailed off as Holly spun to face him. He couldn't quite place the look in her eyes, but it scared him. There was anger there, but something more as well. A sort of tormented grief that reached out from her expression and twisted his gut.

"Stop, Artemis," she said quietly. "Just forget it."

"Don't you see, Holly? Opal is going to-"

"No. I don't see. And I don't want to." Artemis opened his mouth to respond, but something about Holly's words made him pause. It was so unlike the elf that he wasn't sure what to say.

"You've got one chance, Artemis," Holly continued in the same emotionless tone. "To explain yourself. To explain everything. Don't even think about leaving anything out. If I don't like what you say, I'm going to blanket wipe you myself and leave you in the first street I find. I won't risk returning you to Butler or your parents. You'll be gone, simple as that. We'll take our chances with Opal on our own."

Artemis knew at once that she was serious. Something dawned on him then. Something that he hadn't had the chance to fully appreciate yet.

 _I put her through hell. She told me she loved me and I abandoned her._

Of course, he had known that his sacrifice would hurt her. The same as he had known it would hurt Butler, and his family. But he hadn't given them much thought. He had been more focused on how to get Holly to safety and prevent her interfering than on worrying about how it might affect her afterwards. The sacrifice had been a necessary evil. The people that cared about him were just collateral damage.

But now he understood that it was more than that. Much, much more than that. Seeing the hurt in Holly's eyes made it so much more real. So much more raw.

"Very well. Let me begin by saying that I did not lie to you. I know I have done so before, but I have more than learned my lesson. I believed that I was going to die."

"I know." Holly's voice was still devoid of emotion. "I could feel it."

"I had only hit Natalya and Amber with a low-level charge from the DNA stun cannons. They regained consciousness shortly after I spoke to you." Artemis's expression drifted for a moment as he recalled the memory. "Natalya murdered Amber right before my eyes. Then she helped me escape."

Holly's face didn't register any change and she didn't speak, so Artemis carried on.

"Amber was preparing for a long and brutal war. Her Nebula Facility was expansive – far more so than we realised. She even had a shuttle hangar. Natalya figured out a way to escape: the facility was partially built inside an old chute connecting the original fort with the main chute network. The problem was that she needed my help from within Amber's ops booth, so she offered to take me with her if I helped. I unlocked the hangar and we stole one of Amber's shuttles. Natalya blew a hole in the floor and just we managed to get clear before the explosion."

Holly frowned. "We know about the chute, but it was sealed. And it collapsed after the explosion. What was left of the Nebula Facility and a few thousand tonnes of rock fell down it. There's no way you could have survived."

Artemis couldn't help smiling a little at the memory. Trying to outrun the deadly avalanche of lava and rock was simultaneously one of the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences of his life. Natalya's flying was exceptional. She was a natural – almost as good as Holly. Almost.

"Turns out you didn't do as thorough a job as you thought you did," he explained. "All it took to clear a path was a nudge in the right direction."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "A nudge?"

Artemis shrugged. "An explosive nudge."

The ghost of a smile danced across Holly's lips, but then she caught herself and it was gone. "So you escaped. Then what? Don't tell me the two of you decided to go on holiday for a few weeks."

Artemis's expression darkened considerably. "She took me back to the surface. Locked me up in a hellhole in Russia. I was alone. Almost a month. Her face was only one I saw."

"The kidnapper kidnapped," commented Holly, not sounding enormously sympathetic. "Ironic."

"Did you know she has magic?"

Surprise registered on Holly's face, but it was quickly replaced with cynicism. "That's not possible."

"Why not? I managed it."

"In a _time tunnel_! And you stole it. How in Frond's name would she have managed to obtain magic?"

Artemis shrugged. "I don't know how, but she does. I saw her heal. I saw her summon a fireball."

"D'Arvit," muttered Holly. "That complicates things." She paused. "Why didn't she just kill you? And how did you manage to escape her?"

"I didn't."

Holly furrowed her brow. "But I found you in France."

Artemis laughed bitterly. "Don't you see? She didn't kill me because she wanted to use me. I was her secret weapon."

Holly shook her head. "I don't understand," she began, but then her brain caught up with ears and she narrowed her eyes. "You were on her side." She took a threatening step towards Artemis. "You were on her side the whole time."

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but Holly cut him off.

"I trusted you!" she shouted, her voice shaking.

"That's why it worked! That was her whole plan. You still don't see, do you? We misjudged her – we thought she was on Amber's side, but she wasn't. She was on her own side the whole time. Amber wanted a war, she wanted to rule the world, but Natalya didn't care about any of that. She was using Amber, just like she was using us. She had her own agenda all along, she was just waiting for the right moment to strike. You see, magicwas the key to everything. The weapon no one knew she had, not even Amber. We underestimated her time and time again, and she made us pay for it."

"How? How does magic help her?"

"Think about it, Holly! Come on, think. What you can do with your magic?"

Realisation washed over the elf's face. "The _mesmer_ ," she breathed.

"Yes!" clapped Artemis. "At least, almost. Not the _mesmer_ exactly, but something similar."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't say for certain; all I have is a theory, but it's one I'm confident in." Artemis took a breath before continuing. "Her powers don't function the same way as a normal fairy. When I stole magic, I specifically stole yours, so my powers were identical to yours. Natalya's magic is different – if I had to guess, I'd say it was a form of black magic, at least originally."

Holly frowned, trying to make sense of what Artemis was saying. "So she has different powers?"

"Precisely. She can heal, just like you, but she can also summon fire, like a goblin. I would also guess that magic is somehow the root of her superhuman speed and strength. I don't think she can shield, and her grasp of the _mesmer_ is different to a normal fairy's."

"Different how?"

Artemis sighed. "Please remember, Holly, I only dabble in magical theory – I'm no expert. But as I understand it, possession and the _mesmer_ are both applications of the same type of magic. Different ways of focusing the same power to control people. It follows that there would be other applications of the same magic, ways that have been lost for millennia, or else were never even discovered."

Holly had long since given up questioning up her human friend's knowledge of fairy secrets.

"She used one of those other ways to control you?" she asked. Artemis nodded. "But why wouldn't she use it before? She kidnapped you in France. Why not then?"

"No, Holly. She didn't kidnap me in France. She _saved_ me in France. I was meant to die, but she intervened and took me hostage instead. She knew you were tracking me – she led you right to Amber's doorstep, and she did it deliberately. She didn't attempt to hijack my mind there and then because she knew she wouldn't be able to."

"Why not?"

"Put simply? Because it would have taken too long. I'm not entirely sure what she did to me, but it was more like a sort of magical conditioning than anything else. Like repeated uses of the _mesmer_ culminating in permanent influence. Magical brainwashing, if you like."

Everything finally clicked into place for Holly. "That's why you were gone a month. She was programming you." The elf's face turned contemplative. "You said _permanent influence._ Does that mean she could control you again?"

Artemis shrugged. "It's possible, though it's unlikely she would have the same success now that I have my memories back. However, I expect that a warlock – especially one as powerful as №1 – could undo the magical programming relatively easy."

"I'll get it organised," said Holly. "I assume Natalya mindwiped you afterwards so you couldn't warn us?"

Artemis nodded. "She took my memories, but she left the order to obey her. I felt it as soon as I woke up again – it was like there was something inexplicable in the back of my mind. Like another consciousness sharing headspace with me. But I didn't know what it was. I didn't remember anything. I assume she left the note so that I would find my way home. Find my way to you, eventually."

Holly looked away awkwardly. "So when she ordered you to shoot me…"

"I had no choice to obey." Artemis shook his head guiltily. "I tried to resist, but without my memories… it was a losing battle. I could feel the mental barrier locking out my memories breaking down, but it was too late."

For a time, the two simply stood in silence, neither knowing what to say. It was Holly who spoke first.

"Well, I suppose that explains your coma."

Artemis frowned. "What coma?"

Holly smiled sadly. "You didn't think you were _asleep_ for more than three days, did you?" She shook her head. "No, you were in a coma. From what it sounds like, your mind was literally fighting itself, so it's understandable. In fact, it's a miracle you didn't suffer brain damage. Resisting the _mesmer_ , in any form,is extremely dangerous." She paused. "The LEP couldn't revive you," she said softly, more to herself than Artemis. "We weren't sure you were going to wake up. I thought you were going to die. Again. After you shot me, I wasn't even sure whether I should be sad or not."

The hurt in Holly's eyes was plain to see. Artemis felt his gut wrench; he hated to see her suffering like this. For a moment, he simply stood there, frozen by uncertainty. But then, in a uncharacteristic display of affection, he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Holly, pulling her close. Perhaps if he had taken a second to consider his actions, he might have thought what an incredibly un-Artemis-like thing it was to do, but he didn't stop to think. He just did what his heart told him to.

"I'm so sorry, Holly," he whispered. "For everything. For being too weak to resist. For almost killing you. But more than anything else, for that month I put you through. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to leave you."

Not even realising that she was silently crying, Holly took a breath and pulled out of the hug. "Promise me," she demanded through her tears. "Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll never do anything like that again."

Artemis hesitated, but only for a second. "I promise. Besides," he added, smiling. "I'm not sure I would be brave enough to give you up again."

Holly gave a nod and wiped away her tears, apparently satisfied.

"There's still something I don't understand," she said. "How do you know she can heal and summon fire?"

The human gave a bitter laugh, his expression turning hollow. "Unlike the _mesmer_ , apparently Natalya's magic can't simply bypass the victim's resistance. In order to take control, she had to overcome my mental resilience, but I fought her every step of the way."

Holly turned away as she put two and two together. Fire and healing. Overcoming resistance. She felt suddenly sick.

"You see, after a while, she got bored of waiting," Artemis continued. "And being able to heal fatal wounds opens up so many new and… _exciting_ ways of breaking someone." He pulled up one of his shirt sleeves and showed Holly the flawless skin. "See? Not even a mark." He winced as the memory twisted at his gut. "I stopped resisting after that."

Holly was only vaguely aware that her hands were shaking, or that her fists were clenched so tight that her knuckles were white.

"I'm going to find her," she said, so softly that not even Artemis could make out her words.

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm going to find her," Holly repeated, her voice stronger. "And when I do, I'm going to kill her."

"No," said Artemis immediately. "Holly, you can't."

"Yes!" the elf shouted back. "Yes, Artemis, I can. And I will. Think about everything she's done to us. She tortured me. She tortured you. She was going to let Amber kill billions of innocent people, including your entire family. She left Juliet and Butler for dead. She made you try to kill me! Who knows how many other people she's murdered? And it's because of her that you had to sacrifice yourself."

Artemis started trying to say something, but Holly was already cutting him off.

"A month, Artemis. I thought you were dead. I thought I was never going to see you again. Because of her. Don't try and tell me she deserves our mercy."

Artemis shook his head in disbelief, shocked by the hard edge to Holly's voice. It was true that Holly could hold a grudge, but the elf certainly wasn't vengeful. She was forgiving and good-hearted by nature. This was completely unlike her.

"Who made you God to say who lives and who dies? Frond, Holly, you can't just go around killing people who wrong you. There's a reason we have a justice system, and a reason it uses independent judges and jurors instead of letting the victim sentence the perpetrator."

"So that's it?" Holly challenged. "You want to forgive her? After everything she's done?"

"I didn't say I wanted to forgive her," Artemis corrected. "I said I didn't think you should murder her. Those two things are not the same. I still want her brought to justice."

Holly spotted an opportunity to change tactic. If Artemis wouldn't respond to an argument from emotion, maybe a more pragmatic argument would sway him.

"And how exactly do you want to do that? Magic or not, she's still human – we can't imprison her forever in Haven. And there isn't a human prison on this Earth that could hold her for more than a few days."

"So we kill her?" asked Artemis incredulously.

Holly shrugged. "She's too dangerous to walk free."

Artemis shook his head. "No, Holly, that's not how it works. If we kill her, we're just as bad as she is." He reached out and tried to lay a reassuring hand on Holly's shoulder, but the elf threw it off. "Please, Holly, I know you're angry, but this isn't like you. You were the one who taught me to do the right thing; this isn't right. You know it's not."

Holly opened her mouth to respond, but then she thought about Artemis's words. Her pre-prepared counterarguments died in her throat. This wasn't an argument she could win and she knew it.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to sound convincing. "You're right." The elf took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I… I don't know what came over me. It's been a very difficult month and a half, and I think my emotions got the better of me." She forced a smile. "If I found it in myself to let Koboi live after she murdered Julius, I can do it for Natalya."

Artemis returned the smile and hugged her again. "I was getting worried there. I'm not sure what I would do without your moral compass to keep me in check."

Holly looked him in the eye. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself," she said quietly. "For no personal gain. You offered up your life so that others might live." She reached out a hand and gently touched his cheek. "You don't need me to guide you anymore. I'm proud of you."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You're not angry at me?"

The elf couldn't resist chuckling a little at that. "I was furious," she admitted. "A part of me still is. But even I can't deny that your actions saved lives. I still remember the little boy that kidnapped me all those years ago, so cold and devoid of compassion. He would never have considered giving up anything, let alone his life, for others. You've changed a lot, Arty."

Artemis looked away sadly. "You didn't seem to think so after Pripyat."

Holly grimaced guiltily, knowing at once what he was referring to. After Artemis had saved her, they had fought and she had said some things – vicious things – that she regretted afterwards, but she hadn't had a chance to apologise. She realised that Artemis was deliberately giving the chance to do so now. She wasn't going to squander it.

"Oh, Arty, you know I didn't mean the things I said that day. I was… not in a good place. I'm sorry. I would have said so sooner, but, well, there wasn't much of a chance what with everything else that was going on."

Artemis nodded. "I suppose allowing us time to reconcile our past differences wasn't exactly high on Amber's list of priorities," he said, with the hint of a smile.

"Not to mention your relapsing Atlantis."

A shadow passed across Artemis's face. He opened his mouth to respond, but Holly interrupted him before he could actually speak.

"Before you say anything, Arty, I know that it was probably mostly my fault that you even relapsed in the first place. And I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"I wasn't going to say that. And I forbid you to feel guilty about it – it wasn't your fault. The condition wasn't properly cured – if not you, something else would have triggered a relapse. Don't blame yourself."

Holly smiled, appreciating the gesture but knowing that she would never fully forgive herself for causing her human friend to relapse, regardless of what he said.

"Actually," she said. "I was going to ask about Atlantis. After I found you, you theorised that it would return alongside your memories, but you seem fine. Are you just hiding it? And don't even think about lying to me."

Artemis shook his head. He had more than learned his lesson when it came to lying to Holly.

"Don't worry, Holly, I'm not trying to deceive you. My Atlantis is gone. Forever. At least, I think so."

"How?"

"As you know, the main trigger for the Atlantis Complex is guilt," explained Artemis. "It's also the biggest obstacle in treating it. Subjects become convinced that the Complex is a kind of punishment for their past misdeeds, and thus subconsciously do not believe that they deserve to get better."

"So?" said Holly, not really seeing where this was going.

"I paid my penance," said Artemis simply. "While I still regret some of my past actions – the sale of the last silky sifaka and your kidnapping chief among them – I am no longer burdened by guilt over them."

"What do you mean you _paid your penance_?" asked Holly, frowning, but then realisation came to her. "Your sacrifice."

The boy nodded, looking suddenly older than he was. "I accepted that I was going to die. I observed that there was a certain feeling of liberation to that. I'm not sure I would be able to explain it comprehensively, but Atlantis could no longer control me after I had accepted my fate. Perhaps I could analyse it and reach a conclusion, but I find that I have no desire to do so. Most unlike me."

"You were prepared to give up your life," whispered Holly. "If that didn't make up for your past mistakes, I don't know what would."

The corners of Artemis's mouth quirked up. "Perhaps."

For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The two of them simply stood there amicably, enjoying the fact that despite everything, the other was still alive. They both knew that with past Opal and Natalya both still loose, their struggles were far from over, but each was happy to face them so long as they had the other by their side.

It was Artemis who broke the silence. He knelt down so that his face was level with Holly's and took a deep breath, summoning his courage.

"Holly. When I was in the Nebula facility, and you were trying to convince me to abandon my plan…"

Holly felt her heart constrict. She knew exactly where Artemis was going with this. "Yes?" Her mouth was suddenly dry.

"Do you remember what you told me?"

The elf gave a nervous nod. It was true that she had been waiting for Artemis to regain his memories so she could bring up exactly those words, but now that it came down to it, there was no denying it: she was terrified. What if Artemis didn't feel the same way? What if, even after everything she had been through to get him back, she still wouldn't get to be with him?

"Is it still true?"

A pause, then another nod from the elf. Holly didn't trust herself to speak, not with her heart beating out such a furious rhythm in her throat.

Artemis couldn't resist breaking into a relieved smile. "I was rather hoping you were going to say that. Holly, as you know, I'm not very good with emotions, so I'm not sure exactly how to say this. But I love you too."

The elf shifted forward, taking Artemis's head in her hands and bringing it closer to hers until their faces were only inches away. Her eyes searched his, looking for a hint of Artemis's old, manipulative self. There was none.

 _This is it_ , she realised, her heart continuing to pound. _I can't blame this on hormones, or the time tunnel, or desperation, or magic, or extenuating circumstances. This makes it real._

Holly leaned a little closer and elfin lips met human ones. Yes, this made it real. Yes, there would be challenges. But in that moment, Holly found that none of that mattered. The only thing in the world that she cared about was Artemis, and his lips on hers.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah, finally. Some proper A/H. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, hope it answered some of the questions you've no doubt had since the beginning. And yes, I'm aware that Holly is OOC in this chapter when she pledges to kill Natalya, but that is intentional. It's important to remember quite how much I have put Holly through over the course of this story and Winter of Decay, and this shows that it's starting to affect her. You can't go through that kind of thing and walk out of the other side the same person you were going in.

Anyway, like I said, I hope you enjoyed. We're back to some action next chapter. In the meantime, you can always review. Or not. It's really up to you. Still, I like it when people review.

-Kio


	12. Infected

**A/N:** I am aware that it's been a while since I updated this. Sorry about that. I'm now at university, so I'm in the process of adapting to living independently for the first time, and I don't have as much free time as over summer. This is also now one of three writing projects I am currently undertaking, so it isn't always easy to find the time/motivation to work on it. That said, I am in no way giving up on it, and I still have several chapters already written. I'm going to carry on updating as much as I can, but though I'll try and keep it fairly regular, updates might be a little sparser than before. Again, sorry.

Now that's out of the way, onto the chapter. It's the longest so far – maybe that partly makes up for the delay? :P – and as promised, it includes some action again. Enjoy!

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 12; Infected**

 **Secure LEP Surface Installation, Egypt**

"Commander, please, be reasonable," said Holly, resisting the urge to raise her voice. She was already regretting leaving Artemis to speak to K'Azir. The commander seemed intent on ignoring every piece of advice she gave him.

"For Frond's sake, Holly, stop trying to defend him." On the screen, K'Azir put his head in his hands. "I really don't understand you. On top of everything else he has already done to you, he shoots you – almost kills you – and all you can do is make excuses for him."

"Sir, that's not fair. Artemis has been a friend to the People. A friend to me."

K'Azir sighed, looking disappointed in her. "Holly, you said it yourself. He colluded with the human known only as Natalya, one of the greatest threats to the People right now, and attempted to kill you. I don't claim to know why – perhaps the two are lovers or lovers or something – but even you can't deny, he betrayed us. He chose her over you."

" _Lovers_?" choked Holly, appalled.

K'Azir shrugged. "It's possible. I gather that the girl is pretty by human standards."

"He wasn't acting of his own volition!" shouted Holly, losing her cool.

"Don't take that tone with me, _Captain_ ," admonished the commander. "And I'm sure he that's what he says now that he's in our custody, but I don't trust that Mud Boy for a moment."

"Forgive me, sir, but I do. He offers a credible version of events, and considering his past actions, I think he has more than earned a second chance."

"His past actions?" spluttered K'Azir. "You mean kidnapping you and extorting the LEP? What about giving away our technology to _Jon Spiro_ of all people? Or perhaps you were referring to his spectacularly ill-advised journey into the past that landed us two Opal Koboi's and this whole mess we're in now?"

Holly ground his teeth. "With respect, sir, I think you're cherry-picking examples to make Artemis look bad."

K'Azir turned a slightly deeper shade of red. "The fact that those examples are _there_ for me to cherry-pick in the first place is still pretty damning though, isn't it? And I would hardly call it cherry-picking when his misdeeds are so numerous."

"But Artemis has done a great deal of good for the People, too," argued Holly. "Without him, we would never have defeated Opal's goblin revolution, or stopped her from exposing the People to humanity. Not to mention that he sacrificed his life to stop Amber from starting a war that would have likely seen the People annihilated."

K'Azir looked unconvinced. "Perhaps he played a role in a few important operations, but I still think-"

" _Played a role_?" interrupted Holly, furious. "He single-handedly saved our civilisation of multiple times!"

K'Azir waved Holly's point away. "Details, Holly. The point is that Artemis Fowl is a danger to the People and he needs to be removed as soon as possible. I'm sorry that you don't agree, but it's what's best for all of us, trust me."

Holly felt the blood drain out of her face. "Removed?" she echoed.

K'Azir nodded. "Fowl will be mindwiped. A team of technicians will be dispatched as soon as is convenient. They would already be on their way, but we're still struggling in the aftermath of the incident in Russia – something else that your precious Mud Boy can take responsibility for. Plus, there's another wave of unrest here in Haven. We're stretched thinner than we've ever been."

Normally Holly would have protested that blaming Artemis for the fiasco in Russia was completely unfair, but her throat was suddenly dry. Her whole body was going numb. They were going to mindwipe him. They were going to take him away from her.

 _Not now,_ she pleaded internally. _Please not now. Not when we've only just found each other again._

Blissfully unaware of her discomfort, K'Azir was still talking about the LEP's plan for Artemis.

"We have reached the conclusion that allowing Fowl to return to his partners in crime would represent an unacceptable risk. After the mindwipe, Fowl will be relocated somewhere he can't cause any more problems. His bodyguard can be relieved of his memories at a later date."

Holly's sensation of numbness was only growing. _Not even allow him to return to his family? Is K'Azir out of his mind?_

"Listen, Holly," continued the commander. "I understand that the two of you have been friends for some time, but it's your duty to do what's best for the People, even when it means making a hard choice. In this instance, that means letting your friend go."

Despite the outrageous sentiment of K'Azir's words, Holly couldn't resist smiling to herself.

 _You're right_ , she thought. _It_ is _my duty to do what's best for the People. Especially when it means making a hard choice. And that is exactly what I intend to do, even if it means disobeying a direct order from you. Because right now, mindwiping Artemis is possibly the worst thing anyone could do to the People. Without him, we don't stand a chance against Opal._

"For what it's worth," added K'Azir. "I'm sorry that it has to be this way." He didn't sound like he meant it very much.

"I understand, commander," lied Holly, careful to keep her face unreadable.

On the screen, K'Azir frowned. "You aren't upset?"

"Of course I am. But it's like you said: my feelings aren't important. What's important is what's best for the People."

K'Azir smiled, impressed. "I'm proud of you, Holly. I know you can be… stubborn sometimes, but that's very mature of you."

Even though she was seething, Holly managed to resist the urge to shout at K'Azir to stop speaking her like a child. Just.

"Thank you, sir. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to say goodbye to my friend."

"Of course, Captain," in what he probably thought was a considerate tone. "Take as long as you need. The technicians probably won't be there for at least a day."

* * *

Artemis knew at once that something was wrong when Holly strode purposefully into his room and locked the door behind her.

"Trouble?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

The elf nodded grimly. "K'Azir," she spat. "He's lost his mind."

"How so?"

"He thinks you're in love with Natalya and have betrayed us for her."

Artemis made a face. "Surely, Holly, you jest. That's absurd. There's no way someone could actually believe that."

"That's not the worst of it," continued Holly. "He's going to have you mindwiped and relocated away from Butler and your family."

"Ah," said Artemis. "That is rather a problem."

"You don't say. I need you to contact Butler. Give him our location and tell him to get him to get here ASAP with Juliet."

Artemis frowned. "What _is_ our location?" He gestured around the room. "What is this place?"

"A safe house, more or less. Officially they're called _secure surface installations_. Remote human structures, adapted for our needs with advanced security and camouflaged to resemble the original building so the Mud People don't start asking questions. The LEP maintains several across the globe to in case they need somewhere safe on the surface to stay put."

"Why?" Artemis asked. "Why wasn't I taken to Haven?"

A shadow passed across Holly's face. "That was the plan. But after all the survivors were picked up from Russia, we split up to stop Opal attacking us all in one go after she found her future self. The shuttle carrying us was one of the ones meant to go through Tara, but the unrest underground is flaring up again. There was a riot at Tara, and we had to divert. Each of the shuttles went to a different safe house; this one's in Egypt, not far from Cairo. I can find co-ordinates if you want."

"That would be ideal, but I'm afraid the LEP took all my possessions. I don't have any way to get a message to Butler."

Holly went quiet, thinking. "Doesn't matter," she said a few seconds later. "I'll get Foaly to do it. I trust him."

The elf turned to leave, but Artemis placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, Holly. What exactly are you expecting Butler to do when he gets here?"

Holly gave her human friend a withering look. "Err, rescue you?"

Artemis smiled. "An honourable notion, I'm sure. But how, precisely, is he going to manage that? You said it yourself – this is an LEP safe house. I doubt they'll just let me walk out. Do you have a plan?"

Holly nodded. "K'Azir has a full squad of armed fairies here after the stunt you pulled in Russia. Not even Butler could take them all on and walk away with you in one piece. But if you make a break for it and he's there to pick you up, you should be able to get clear."

Artemis looked horrified. "Make a break for it? They'll shoot me! Who's going to provide the covering fire?"

Holly's face was a grim mask of determination. "I will."

"You're going to fire on your own people?"

Holly managed a smile. "They're going to take you away from me. I won't let that happen."

But rather than returning the elf's smile, Artemis was shaking his head. "No, Holly. Think about the consequences. I can't let you do that."

Holly was adamant. "Let them fire me," she said. "So what? You think I care about my career?"

"Forget about your career, Holly. What about your freedom? If you do this, you'll be a traitor to the People. You could lose your right to live among them. What would you do then?"

The elf was unfazed. "I'd come and live with you. I would be welcome at Fowl Manor, wouldn't I?"

Artemis frowned. "Of course, Holly – always. But that's not the point. I don't want you to-"

The rest of Artemis's words were lost as Holly's lips met his.

"Artemis," she whispered once she had broken off the kiss. "Do you know what the words _I love you_ mean?" Artemis made to say something but she interrupted him with another kiss. "They mean that I can't live without you. I tried, believe me, and it was hell. I can't do that again. I don't care what the consequences are. I'll bear them."

* * *

 **Police Plaza, Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Foaly was enjoying a nice cup of sim-coffee when Holly called him. He wasn't sure whether to smile or curse as he put her through.

"What's up, Holly?"

The elf didn't waste time of pleasantries. "Is this a secure line?"

Foaly groaned and tapped a few keys. "It is now." He paused. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Nope."

"Is it… legal? At least slightly?" asked the centaur nervously.

Holly chuckled. "What I need from you? More or less. What I'm going to do afterwards? Not even remotely."

Foaly put his head in his hands. "Gods, Holly, why do you do this to me? I swear I age a few years every time you say something like that."

"I need you to put me through to Butler at Fowl Manor," said Holly, ignoring the centaur's words.

"Why?" Foaly didn't bother hiding his suspicious tone.

"I need his help," answered Holly evasively.

"With what? Seriously, Holly, if you want my help, you need to be honest with me."

Holly's ultra-sensitive helmet mic easily picked up the elf's sigh. "Artemis got his memories back, but K'Azir's going to take them away again. I need Butler's help to get him out of here."

"Holly," started Foaly gently. "You _do_ remember what happened in Russia, don't you? Artemis shot you. He deceived all of us, he was working with Natalya. You can't seriously be trying to help him break out of custody, can you?"

"Yes, I bloody well can!" Holly shouted back immediately. "He wasn't acting of his own volition in Russia; Natalya was controlling him. After everything he's done for us, we owe him better than this. Besides we need him to defeat Opal, you know we do."

"What has he told you?"

"Enough to satisfy me that Russia wasn't his fault."

"And you trust him?"

"With my life."

Foaly ground his teeth audibly. He was reticent to trust Artemis since the Mud Boy had almost killed Holly and seemingly been working alongside Natalya. But he trusted Holly, and if Holly trusted Artemis…

 _It wouldn't be the first time Artemis had pulled the wool over Holly's eyes_ , a voice in his head reminded him.

 _Well_ , he decided. _I suppose that's risk I'll have to take. Holly's right; we need him to beat Opal_.

Despite his misgivings, he knew he couldn't just give up on Artemis, not after everything the human had done for them. Not to mention that even if he did, Holly would probably just try and break him out on her own. And if she failed, and Artemis was lost to them forever, he doubted she would ever forgive him.

"Alright," he said defeatedly. "I'll put you through."

"Thanks, Foaly," beamed the elf from all the way up on the surface. If they had been in the same room, Foaly was sure she would have hugged him. He could hear it in her voice.

* * *

 **Secure LEP Surface Installation, Egypt**

Juliet picked up on the first ring. Holly wasn't surprised – neither she or Butler had been told anything about Artemis's situation. They were probably worried sick, especially considering that Holly had promised to deliver their charge back to Fowl Manor within twenty-four hours.

 _Oops,_ she thought. _Well, I only missed the deadline by four days. And at least he_ is _still alive. It could have been worse._

"This is the Fowl Residence," said Juliet smartly, but Holly could hear that she was on edge.

"Juliet. I need to talk to your brother."

"Holly!" exclaimed the human girl. " _Where in Frond's name have you been_?"

The elf gulped guiltily. "Funny you should ask that…"

"What are you talking about? Is Artemis alright?"

"Well," said Holly somewhat evasively. "He is at the moment."

"Holly Short," started Juliet in tone that brooked no argument. "Give me a straight answer right now or so help me Frond-"

"Alright, alright! The LEP have arrested Artemis and they are going to mindwipe him again."

"So what? He already lost his memories." There was a pause. Holly could almost hear the gears turning in Juliet's head. "He got them back?"

"Yep."

All the way away in Ireland, Juliet grinned. "Seriously? That's great! So he remembers you now?"

Holly's hand absently strayed to her face, her finger gently touching her lower lip. Maybe it was just in her mind, but she could have sworn it was tingling a little.

"Yes," she said, resisting the urge to smile. "He definitely remembers me."

"Fantastic. And now they're going to mindwipe him?"

Holly's smile vanished. "K'Azir's just doing it out of spite. He won't listen to reason."

Juliet sighed. "Do you think maybe, one day, Artemis will be able to stay out of trouble? Actually, scratch that, we both know it'll never happen. What did he do this time?"

Holly thought about everything that had happened since she and Artemis had gone below ground. There was a lot to explain.

"It's complicated," she said eventually. "I'll explain later. Preferably when no-one is in danger of losing their memories."

Juliet hesitated. She wasn't exactly comfortable with being left in the dark, but if what Holly said was true then time was of the essence if they were going to save Artemis.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it. Give me your location and my brother and I will be there as soon as possible."

Holly read out the co-ordinates of the safe house. "Don't try and mount an attack," she added. "I'll get the Mud Boy out, trust me. I just need someone to get him clear of the area once he's out. Just… be there."

"Just be there," repeated Juliet. "Got it."

* * *

 **Secure LEP Surface Installation, Egypt, Five hours later**

Holly stood at the window of Artemis's room, surveying the safe house's grounds. Night had fallen a few hours ago, shrouding the sandy path in darkness.

"Bravo team," she said into her helmet mic. "Are you in position?"

One of the first things Holly had done was assign everyone involved a call sign for easier communication. She and Artemis were Alpha team; the Butlers were Bravo team. _Simple – even you can manage that_ she had quipped at Artemis, who had little time for military slang. Though the human had objected, Holly had insisted that as she was the one rescuing him, they were going to do it her way. The soldier's way. At least Butler approved.

She got a pair of _affirmatives_ from the Butlers, confirming that they were ready. The two sat in a rented Land Rover a short distance away, waiting to receive Artemis. They had rushed to Egypt, moving into position just as soon a Butler had picked up a few _things_ in case things got dicey. Dangerous things.

"Copy that," she said. "The package is about to be on its way. Sit tight."

"Must you, Holly?" asked Artemis in a pained voice from behind her. "The package? I am a person, not a thing. I have a name."

The elf shrugged. "I could always use your LEP codename."

Despite himself, Artemis was curious. He hadn't known that the LEP had assigned him a codename, although it made perfect sense now that he thought about it.

"Which is?"

Beneath her visor, the ghost of a smile danced across Holly's lips. "Phoenix," she answered.

Artemis made a face. "For pity's sake. I was _missing_. I wasn't dead. And I certainly wasn't _reborn_."

Holly turned to face him and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side, it's better than your old one, before you were… _missing_."

"Do I even dare ask?"

"Vampire."

Artemis sighed and muttered something that might have been _no respect_. Holly ignored him.

"Come on, Mud Boy, no time to be indignant now. We've only got so many hours of darkness – we need to get moving."

Artemis took a steadying breath, suddenly nervous. "Remind me again what I'm supposed to do?"

The elf placed a comforting hand on her friend's arm. She knew full well that Artemis remembered exactly what he was supposed to do, but she didn't blame him for wanting her to reiterate it one more time. It was comforting going over the plan that extra time before putting it into action; she knew that well enough from experience.

"It's natural to be anxious," she said soothingly. "But you're going to be fine, you hear me? I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. I promise."

Artemis nodded, even managing a little smile. "Why would I be anxious?" he asked, raising a playful eyebrow. "Making a break for it while being shot at by a squad of heavily armed LEP commandos isn't really a big deal, when you think about it."

Holly rolled her eyes. "The corridor outside is already abandoned – I made sure – so you have a clear route to the back of the building," she continued, pretending she hadn't heard him. "You'll be able to get outside as soon as I stun the sentry. Butler and Juliet will be waiting for you. There's a reasonable amount of cover between us and them, and the darkness will only make you a more difficult target. Stay low and move fast; don't look back."

"How far?" asked Artemis, even though he knew the answer.

"Only about three hundred metres. It's as close as they could get without setting off any of the sensors."

Artemis nodded again.

Holly took his hand in hers and gave a squeeze. "Don't worry about the LEP. I'll keep them occupied. I doubt they'll even have the chance to try and shoot at you, let alone hit you."

Holly was about to give him a good luck kiss when her helmet speakers suddenly crackled into life.

"Contact! Contact!"

It took her a moment to realise that the words were coming over the channel she was sharing with the other LEP personnel stationed at the safe house.

"We have multiple contacts converging on us. Prepare to engage."

Holly frowned. Was it the Butlers? Had they dismissed her plan and decided to come and retrieve Artemis themselves? She rushed to the window to see if she could steal a glance at what was going on outside.

Out in the darkness, several figures were emerging out of the night, sprinting towards the safe house. _Not the Butlers then,_ she reflected. _But in that case, who?_ But then the elf looked closer at the approaching figures. They were short – fairy sized – but there was something eerily familiar about how they moved. Something unnatural. In that moment, she knew exactly what was coming at them, and exactly how much danger they were in.

 _She's found us. I don't know how, but somehow Opal's found us._

"Weapons free!" came a shout over her helmet speakers. Immediately the night was lit up with neutrino bursts directed at the oncoming figures. And though the laser blasts found their mark, there was no effect.

 _Of course there isn't. We already learnt that lesson the hard way in Russia._

The creatures were almost at the house. Holly had counted at least ten as they made their approach, and there were almost certainly more. There was no way they could fight them off in the close quarters of the safe house. In minutes, they were all dead.

"Holly?" Artemis was asking, his tone surprisingly calm. "Is there a problem?"

Holly ignored him, frantically switching coms channel. " _Butler!_ " she screamed. "Get here! Now!"

"But you said not to-"

"Forget what I said! We're all dead if you don't get here _right now_."

Butler didn't need telling twice. He slammed the Land Rover into gear and stomped on the accelerator, aiming the vehicle straight at the safe house.

Back inside the safe house, Holly was already piling up what little furniture was in the room against the door. She broke off one of a leg from the table to use as a melee weapon, but she wasn't kidding herself. There was no way she would be able to take on more than one of the formers at a time. If more got through, she and Artemis were both dead.

Artemis himself was growing rather impatient. "Holly," he said. "Would you _please_ tell me what is going on?"

The elf didn't spare him a glance, continuing to push the bed up against the door.

"The creatures from Russia are here. The formers."

The colour drained from Artemis's face. Just like Holly, he had seen first-hand the kind of devastation the formers could cause. He gestured to the now barricaded entrance.

"Shouldn't we try and help the others?" he asked uncertainly.

Holly gave a bitter laugh. "With what?" She threw her arms wide to illustrate her point. "None of my weapons work against them. There's nothing we could do apart from offer ourselves up instead, and I'm not particularly keen on that idea."

Outside, the Land Rover containing the Butlers came careering through the grounds, smashing pretty much everything in its way. One of the formers decided to switch targets to the approaching vehicle, leaping into its path with bared teeth. The front grille slammed into it at forty odd miles an hour. There was a dull thud and the creature disappeared from view.

Even as the Land Rover was skidding to a halt outside the safe house, Butler was already opening the door and diving out. He landed surprisingly nimbly for a man of his size, and immediately began appraising his surroundings. There were two short figures – fairies, presumably – dressed in tattered LEP uniforms charging at him. Butler instantly recognised the animalistic behaviour.

He deemed them a threat and responded the only way he knew how: with as much violence and aggression as humanly possible. He shifted into a combat stance and moved forward, meeting the two fairies head on. The first was dealt with a quick jab to the throat, the second was simply grabbed and launched bodily into the gravel.

Without pausing, Butler turned his attention back to the safe house. Artemis was somewhere inside, and he was in danger. It was time for him to do what he did best. But something made him hesitate. A movement out of the corner of his eye. The fairy he had jabbed was already getting up, shaking off a blow that should have left him dazed for a few hours at least.

The fairy let loose an animalistic scream and leapt at the bodyguard. Butler caught it deftly and, in a single fluid movement, slammed its head as hard as he could into the Land Rover's bonnet. The metal groaned, but fared better than the fairy's visor, which shattered. The fairy's face met a similar fate as Butler brought it down for a second impact. This time, it didn't get up.

Not bothering to inspect his handiwork, Butler immediately headed round to the back of the Land Rover, where he was joined by Juliet. He flung open the boot and grabbed the ready bag he had picked up earlier. Among other things, inside the bag was a set of clean clothes, two days of spare rations, body armour, a Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun, a Sig Sauer P226 handgun and several loaded magazines for each.

The bodyguard ignored everything else in the ready bag, quickly retrieved both firearms. He passed the Sig pistol to Juliet alongside its two magazines and grabbed the MP5 for himself. He slotted in one of the thirty round magazines and pulled the cocking handle back and forth, picking up the first round in the mag and depositing it in the chamber, ready to be fired. Then he pulled back the cocking handle again, this time not all the way, just to check that the shiny brass bullet was where is was supposed to be. The last thing he needed when he pulled the trigger was to hear the _dead man's click_ as the pin went forward but had no round to fire.

"Ready," said Juliet next to him, who had just done the exact same thing with the Sig Sauer.

Butler nodded in recognition. "I'll take point," he said, and started moving towards the safe house, weapon up.

Two of the strange animal-like fairies emerged from the building, both with blood on their tattered uniforms. As soon as they saw the Butlers they screamed and charged forward.

Juliet responded instantly, dropping into a stable shooting position and dispatching the first target with a swift double-tap to the head. The fairy stayed upright for a moment before falling, as though its body had taken a moment to realise that it had two bullets buried in its skull.

Butler didn't even break his stride, he simply squeezed the MP5's trigger and fired a quick burst at his target. The 9mm rounds slammed into the fairy and stopped it dead, killing it instantly.

"Come on," said Butler, still moving forward. "We need to find Artemis."

* * *

Meanwhile, upstairs, Holly's improvised barricade wasn't holding up as well she had hoped. The elf was confident she could hear at least two formers outside the door doing their best to break into their makeshift haven. At first they had tried to throw their weight against the door to break it down, but when that had proved fruitless, they had switched to trying to simply break the door itself apart.

Even as Holly and Artemis looked on, a strong hand punched through the flimsy wood. Another followed. It wouldn't be long the formers made a hole wide enough to climb through.

"D'Arvit," muttered Holly. She turned to the human boy and hefted the table leg. "Artemis. Get behind me."

"Holly, I appreciate the sentiment but-"

"Behind me. Now!"

Artemis did as he was told, stealing a nervous glance as the door as he moved. It was already starting to come apart. They had seconds.

Holly smiled grimly. For the moment, she could only see two formers outside. She gripped the table leg. _One vs two. They look like former fairies rather than humans, so they won't be as strong as the ones in Russia. I can do this._ She swallowed. _I'll have to, or they'll rip both of us apart._

The sound of gunfire outside rent the night. _The Butlers,_ thought Holly. _It has to be. Help is on the way. We just have to hold on…_

The door gave way. The two formers leapt over the mound of furniture Holly had left in their way and dived towards the elf. Holly dashed forwards, too; she knew she was only going to have the chance to get one good strike in and she was desperate to make it count.

She swung the heavy wooden table leg with all the force she could muster, catching one of the formers in mid-air. The impact shattered the table leg, picking the former out of the air and launching it back through the hole it had just jumped through.

 _One down, one to go,_ thought Holly as she skidded to a halt and span to face the other former as it landed behind her. She dropped the useless stub of the table leg and raised her fists, dropping into a combat stance.

"Think you can take me?" she goaded. The former shrieked and launched itself at her. Holly made to duck underneath her airborne adversary, but she reacted a split-second too late. Fingers wrapped themselves around her shoulder as the former passed over her, dragging her to the ground.

The former followed up instantly, sinking a vicious punch into her chest and climbing on top of her, trapping her arms and grabbing at her neck. But instead of manically scratching at her protective uniform as in Russia, the former's fingers sought the clasps that would detach her helmet. In a heartbeat, it released them, separating Holly's uniform from her helmet.

Holly could feel panic rising in her throat like bile. _They're learning!_ she thought wriggled one of her arms out from underneath the former's leg and aimed a punch at the monster on top of her. It was relatively weak, but it was enough it to make it shift its weight off her other arm enough to pull it free.

Now with both arms liberated, Holly tried to shove the former fairy off her, but it was too strong. Using its armoured helmet as a weapon, it sent a brutal headbutt into her chest, knocking the breath out of her. Taking advantage of her momentary incapacity, it reached out and ripped off her helmet, raising it high above them like a nutcracker. Raising it directly above Holly's now unprotected face.

Holly tried to scream, but no sound came out. She had seen this in Russia. She knew how it ended. Eyes wide with terror, the elf stared at her death.

"No!"

The shout came from Artemis. Seeing what was going to happen, the boy charged forward and attacked the former with the only weapon he had: himself. He crashed into it, sent them both tumbling across the floor. In the commotion, the creature lost its own LEP helmet.

Artemis made to get up, but the former was faster, grabbing him and smashing his head into the floor before turning its attention back to Holly. The elf was slowly getting to her feet, her body aching from the beating she had already received.

Holly gasped as she saw the former fairy's face. It was a face she recognised. She'd seen it in Russia. It was the face of the fairy that had been pulled back into the horde chasing them as they as desperately ran from the ghost town.

"No…" she breathed, not daring to believe her eyes. The face was scarred and deformed, but it was unmistakeably the same elf.

The former growled at her, ignoring her disbelief. Holly raised her hands to defend herself, but she could barely stay upright without swaying. She didn't stand a chance.

The former fairy came at her. It ducked beneath her clumsy punch, reaching out both hands and grabbing her by the lapels. Before she had time to react, it threw her backwards into the wall.

Holly groaned in pain as she made contact with the brick, the last of her desire to fight abandoning her. She watched through blurring eyes as the former strode towards her, baring its teeth.

"No," she moaned, her consciousness already ebbing away. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't obey. The former shrieked and dived on her, clawing frenziedly at her face and throat. Holly felt her skin tear; pain was immediate. She wanted to cry out, but something caught her eye. Movement by the door way.

"Not today, freak."

A rapid pair of shots rang out. Two rounds slammed into the back of the former's head. Black blood splattered over Holly, running down her face, mingling with her own blood dripping from the wounds all over face her throat and face. The former slumped onto her, lifeless. Repulsed, Holly rolled the creature off her.

Juliet was by her side immediately. "Holly! Are you alright?"

Holly considered it as she caught her breath. Everything hurt, and for some reason her magic wasn't kicking in to heal the vicious scratches all over her face. But what she said was, "Forget about me. I'm fine. Check Artemis."

Juliet turned to the boy. He was lying face down, motionless. Holly was already starting to crawl desperately towards him, murmuring his name. Recognising the elf's fear, Juliet rushed to Artemis's fallen form. She turned him over and checked for a pulse.

"He's alive," she announced. "Just dazed."

Even as she spoke, Artemis was coming around. The boy sat up and looked around groggily.

Holly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Frond," she muttered. If Artemis had been badly hurt, she didn't know what she would have done. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him again.

"Dom!" Juliet shouted, aiming her voice into the corridor outside. "I've got them!"

Butler's massive form appeared in the doorway a moment, the MP5 cradled in his beefy arms. A single glance told him that neither Holly or Artemis were in great shape, but he knew they probably didn't have time to wait for them to recover.

"Come on," he said in his gravelly tones. "We need to get out of here ASAP. They'll be more of those things."

As if on cue, there was a noise in the corridor behind him. The bodyguard spun and unloaded the remaining rounds in the magazine into a pair of formers. In a single fluid motion, he dropped the empty magazine and slotted in a fresh one.

"Last mag," he muttered. "Juliet?"

"One and a half left," came the response. "I'll take point." Juliet turned back to Artemis and Holly. "Come on. We have to move."

Holly ignored her. Her eyes were fixed on the mutilated corpse of the former Juliet had shot, the pain from her wounds forgotten. The look of horror on her face was only growing more pronounced.

"Holly…" Juliet was saying. "You need to-"

"I knew him," the elf interrupted, gesturing at the corpse. "He was LEP. He was in Russia with me and Artemis."

"Russia?" exclaimed Butler. "What the blazes were you doing in- actually, never mind, we'll have time for that later. Right now, we need to go."

Holly's hands were shaking and her eyes didn't leave the body, but she managed to nod.

"Artemis?" called Butler. "We're leaving."

But Artemis wasn't listening. He was staring at Holly.

"Holly," he said softly, his face white. "Holly, what have they done to you?"

The elf frowned. She raised a hand and touched her face, looking faintly surprised when it came away bloody. "I'm bleeding," she muttered to herself. She looked back at Artemis and shrugged. "It's nothing."

It was obvious from Artemis's expression that he didn't think it was nothing. "Blood," he said, as though that would explain everything.

Holly's frown deepened. "So? I've been hurt way worse than this, both of us have. My magic will kick in in a moment and I'll be fine." She looked closer at Artemis, who didn't seem at all reassured. "What's gotten into you, Mud Boy? I told you, it's no big deal."

Artemis seemed to pull himself together enough to muster a coherent sentence. "Yes, Holly, you are bleeding. But that isn't the problem." At Holly's look of confusion, he pointed at her injuries. There were streaks of black mixed into the red. "The problem is that not all that blood is yours."

Holly was starting to grow impatient. They didn't have time for this. "And?" she snapped. "It's not as if they're infec-"

She stopped talking very suddenly. Her eyes flicked to the former elf on the ground, then back to Artemis. The colour trained from her face.

"Artemis?" she whispered. "You… surely you don't think….?" One look at Artemis told her that that she had reached the conclusion that he had been pushing her towards. She looked away, feeling suddenly ill. This couldn't be right. Artemis had to be wrong, that was the only explanation. The alternative was… it was unacceptable.

Two gunshots and a dull thud from the hallway dragged Artemis's thoughts away from Holly. "We've got company!" came a shout from Juliet.

"Holly," he said, striding forwards and kneeling down so his face was level with the elf's. He laid his hands on her shoulders. "Holly, look at me."

But Holly wouldn't. She turned her head further away, trying to swallow the bile rising in her throat.

"Holly, please," Artemis continued, his eyes pleading. "We don't know for sure that those things are directly infectious. Opal might have converted him another way. Maybe he was captured or something. You might be fine."

The elf turned to meet his eyes. "And if I'm not?"

Artemis's expression hardened. "I will fix it."

Holly gave a bitterly sarcastic laugh and looked away again, trying to cover the tears in her eyes. Artemis wasn't fooled.

"I mean it, Holly," he said forcefully. "Whatever happens, whatever it takes, I _will_ fix this."

For a few moments, there was silence, punctuated only by the odd gunshot from out in the corridor.

"Artemis…"

"Holly, look me in the eye. Do you trust me?"

Holly did as she was asked. She recognised the iron determination behind Artemis's eyes as the same that so often sat behind her own, and she knew that he would do whatever was required to help here.

"Of course," she whispered. "I always have. But…"

"There you go; that's all there is too it. No buts." He smiled at her. "Come on. We need to get to Fowl Manor immediately so I can examine you."

"Finished?" growled Butler, looking thoroughly unimpressed with them for takings so long.

Artemis straightened up. "Yes, Butler," he replied, resuming his formal manner. "Lead the way."

The bodyguard flashed his charge a look that said quite clearly that _leading the way_ was probably going to be a lot more dangerous than it would have been a few minutes ago, but nevertheless did as he was told, escorting boy and elf out into the corridor. Juliet was waiting for them.

As it turned out, Butler needn't have worried. Their departure from the safe house ended up being largely uneventful. It seemed that the Butler siblings had successfully neutralised all of the former fairies in the immediate vicinity, and though they had no doubt that Opal would be sending reinforcements, they had yet to arrive. The party of four were not harassed by any unnatural creatures as they made their way to the abandoned Land Rover.

As they were getting in, however, a movement out in the night caught Butler's eye. One of formers, lying wounded in the sand, covered in its own freakish black blood, was trying, ever so slowly, to crawl towards them. It was a pathetic sight. Butler raised his weapon almost lazily, his eyes devoid of emotion.

Artemis followed his line of sight. "No!" he cried, a fraction of a second before Butler could squeeze the trigger.

The bodyguard turned to him, a confused expression on his face. "No?"

"I need it. Alive."

Butler frowned, but knew better than to question Artemis. He strode quickly over to the injured former and dragged it back to the Land Rover, bundling it roughly into the boot and locking it in.

As Butler drove them to where he and Juliet had landed the Fowl Learjet, they could all hear the dull thuds as it slammed its fists into the walls of its tiny metal prison. Artemis and Holly, who were sat in the back, could even make out the odd muted growl. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Eventually, Juliet could contain her curiosity no longer. "Artemis? What on Earth do you need that thing for?"

Artemis gave a grim smile. "I need to study it."

"Why?" said Juliet.

"It is vital that I ascertain exactly what those things are and how Opal is controlling them if we are to stand any chance to stopping her. Also-" Artemis shot a glance at Holly, who hadn't spoken since they had left Artemis's room. She was still looking seriously shaken. Somehow, their hands had managed to find each other on the back seat. Artemis gave Holly's a squeeze. "Never mind. I'll explain when we get back to Fowl Manor. Just know that it is of the utmost importance that I have an… _intact_ specimen to examine."

* * *

 **A/N:** I don't really have anything to say here, but I'd love to hear what you thought in a review :)

-Kio


	13. Condemned

**A/N:** Before getting into the chapter, I just wanted to say a really big thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I know this fandom is pretty dead at this point, but the support on this story has been great and it means the world to me. I didn't have the time to respond to many of last chapter's reviews, but I really appreciate the support and it helps motivate me to find time to keep getting up chapters. So once again, thank you. I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Oh, and I'm not actually at uni (where I live) right now, which means I don't have access to my computer and am trying to edit and upload this with a borrowed laptop. So apologies in advance if there are some typos I missed.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 13; Condemned**

 **Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Dawn had come and gone by the time the group arrived back at Fowl Manor, and the sun was high in the sky as they pulled through the reinforced steel gates. Transferring the former from the Learjet to the Fowl Bentley had been no trivial task, but thankfully they had been able to land on a private airstrip, and so there had been no one to ask difficult questions about why two humans and a fairy were wrestling a bloodied, savage humanoid into the boot of a car.

It was only as they were pulling up outside Fowl Manor that Juliet decided to ask a difficult question of her own.

"Artemis," she said. "You know your parents were due back while we were all in Egypt, don't you? What are you going to tell them?"

On the back seat, Artemis's eyebrows shot up. "My parents? They're here?" He paused, thinking. "That complicates things."

Holly laid a hand on his knee. "Don't you want to see them?" she asked. "You haven't seen each other since before your disappearance."

"I know," muttered Artemis distractedly. "I know. But now isn't a good time. How am I going to explain all of this?"

Holly smiled reassuringly. "It'll be fine. Your father knows about the People already – I told him after you disappeared. You can just tell them the truth."

Artemis looked unsure. "They won't like that. They'll be worried."

"Well, if you're going to lie, you had better think of something fast," said Juliet, nodding towards the front of Fowl Manor, where Angeline and Artemis Sr. were striding out to meet them, both wearing anxious expressions.

Butler and Juliet both got out and started to greet the two Fowls, but they were quickly interrupted by Artemis Sr., who was looking strained.

"Where _were_ you?" he was saying. "You were supposed be here when we got back! We don't pay you to just disappear-"

He stopped talking very quickly as he spotted Artemis getting out of the Bentley.

"Angeline…" he managed in a sort of strangled whisper, aiming a shaking finger at his son.

Artemis Jr. swallowed a wave of sudden anxiety. "Hello, Father," he said, trying to keep his voice even. He nodded to Angeline. "Mother."

Both his parents simply stood and stared, apparently incapable of speech.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Fowl," said Holly nervously, appearing next to Artemis.

She was completely ignored; Angeline and Artemis Sr. were utterly transfixed by their son. Their _living_ son. Eventually, Angeline seemed to break out of her reverie, stumbling forward and reaching out a hand. Her fingers brushed against Artemis's cheek, her touch gentle, as though she needed to make sure he was real, but was afraid that if she was too rough he might disappear again.

"Artemis?" she said tentatively. "Is it really you?"

Artemis tried to smile, but didn't quite manage it. His heart was in his throat.

"Yes, Mother."

"I don't understand."

 _No,_ Artemis thought, _of course you don't._ He found then that he felt a sudden rush of guilt, as he thought of exactly what he had put them through. He remembered Holly, remembered the grief that had sat behind her eyes when he had spoken to her at the safe house. The loss. He thought that for the first time, he was starting to truly understand what it was he had done. Understand the extent of the consequences of his actions.

He suddenly wanted to explain, to explain everything. He found himself inexplicably desperate to make them understand. To tell them that he had never wanted to leave, never wanted to disappear, that he had had no choice, that Natalya had abducted him and taken his memories, preventing him from returning to his family.

But even as the words were surging up his throat, he swallowed them. _Don't be silly,_ he told himself. _Mother would worry herself half to death if she knew where you had been over the last month. Besides, Holly is the priority now. There is no time to waste on unnecessary explanations._

"I'm sorry, Mother," he said. "I missed you, all of you. More than I would ever have thought possible."

"Where were you?" his mother asked hoarsely. "Holly said… she said you were _dead_! What happened?"

Artemis considered his words carefully. "I _was_ dead. At least, that's what she believed. What everyone believed. But in truth, I survived. I would have returned to you sooner, but I was… otherwise engaged. Against my will. However, I am completely fine now, you will be pleased to know."

Butler mumbled something that might have been something along the lines of _I didn't believe you were dead_ , but Angeline was speaking again and no one seemed to hear him.

"Holly said that you sacrificed yourself…" she said.

Her son averted his eyes. "It is true that that was my intention."

All of a sudden, Angeline threw her arms around him, sobbing loudly. "Oh, Arty, you've changed so much." She sobbed harder, her speech disintegrating into disjointed words. "Missed you… so much… couldn't believe… couldn't help wishing… if only you'd stayed selfish… but so proud… my little Arty… so brave… Oh Arty…"

Seeming to recover from the initial shock of seeing his recently deceased son, Artemis Sr. stepped forward, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder as she continued to cry. His eyes, however, never left his son's face. Though he opened his mouth and tried to speak several times, no sound came out. He simply carried on staring silently at the boy he had thought he would never see again.

"Father," said Artemis Jr., finally extricating himself from his mother's teary embrace. He was about to say something else, but then he got a proper look at his father's face. He was struck immediately by how gaunt and hollow it seemed; the renewed warmth that had emanated from the Fowl Patriarch ever since he had been healed by Holly all those years ago was gone, snatched away by grief.

"Father," he tried again. "I know you have many questions, and in time, I will do my utmost to answer them. But at present, the world is in danger. It is imperative that I get to my lab as soon as possible so I can seek a solution."

His father frowned as though struggling to keep up with events. "Danger? What danger?"

Artemis was saved having to answer by a sudden screech from his mother.

"What in the heavens is _that_?" she exclaimed, pointing a shaking finger over Artemis's shoulder, where Butler and Juliet were dragging the wounded former from the boot of the Fowl Bentley.

Artemis followed her gaze to the struggling creature, to its horrible sunken eyes and rotting skin, to the dried blood that matted its tattered LEP uniform. It growled and thrashed as he watched, desperately trying to sink its teeth into one of its captors.

"That," he said grimly. "Is the danger."

* * *

Artemis gathered Butler, Juliet and Holly in his laboratory several hours later. The former they had recovered from Egypt was strapped to a table in a corner, surrounded by various surgical implements stained by black blood. It wasn't moving anymore.

"So?" asked Holly nervously. "What did you find out?"

Artemis cleared his throat. "Well," he began. "There's good news and bad news."

He got three loud groans in response.

"I hate it when he says that," muttered Juliet.

"The good news," continued Artemis, ignoring her. "Is that I now have a much better understanding of exactly what these creatures are, and I believe that it may be possible to eliminate an existing infection if it is identified in its early stages."

Holly's heart sank. If being able to stop an existing infection was being given as the good news, that could only mean one thing about the bad news.

"The bad news," said Artemis, looking unusually grave. "Is that, judging by what I have learned, Captain Short here has almost certainly been infected. Although, it may still help to examine you, Holly, to witness the progression of the infection in a living host."

Juliet raised her hand. "Artemis," she said, without waiting to be asked. "What do you mean… _living host_?"

Artemis flashed her a grim smile. "I'm glad you ask, as that is a rather key point." He cleared his throat, and everyone recognised that he was about to launch into a lecture. For once, however, no-one was expecting to be bored by it; the formers were many things – sinister and revolting certainly being among them – but they were not dull.

"When Holly first encountered the creatures in Russia," he said. "She suggested that they seemed like former humans; humans that had somehow been changed – altered – to exhibit extraordinary savagery. She also suggested, because their bodies were cold and they had no heartbeat, that they were no longer alive. I initially dismissed this as impossible, but it turns out that, in a way, she was right."

Juliet looked as though she was considering bursting out laughing. "You don't mean… you're not saying… they aren't _zombies,_ are they?"

Artemis treated her to a look of utter condescension. "Don't be ridiculous," he said scathingly, before returning to his explanation. "No, these are not humans – or fairies – infected with a sickness or disease. They are playing host to a parasite."

Holly frowned. "I thought parasites were creatures that lived inside other creatures."

Artemis sighed. "While that is a painfully crude explanation, it is more or less accurate. However, there are also microscopic parasites that can grow and reproduce within individual host cells. It seems that just such a parasite is responsible for the formers; however, this parasite is, put simply, extraordinary. In a relatively short space of time, it infects every single cell in the host's body, killing the host."

"Shouldn't that kill the parasite as well?" asked Butler, trying to keep up. He wasn't cut out for microbiology.

"Yes!" exclaimed Artemis, clapping his hands. "Yes, it should. Normally, the last thing a parasite wants to do is kill its host. But this parasite appears capable of surviving inside a dead host. Don't ask me why, I don't understand. I suspect that magic is involved. And somehow, the several trillion individual parasites are all able to work together to control the host's corpse. It shouldn't be possible, but somehow, it is. And not only that, but the separate collections of parasites – different formers – are able to work together, even without visibly communicating. The only logical conclusion is that they are operating as some kind of hive mind."

"Wait a minute," said Holly. "Opal's controlling the formers. That would mean-"

"That she is controlling the hive mind," interrupted Artemis. "Yes, Holly! All we have to do is find the hive mind and sever her connection with it and her army will collapse."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess it's lucky we know where the hive mind is and how to destroy it, otherwise that might seem almost impossible."

Pausing only to shoot Juliet a disdainful glare, Artemis turned to Holly, now addressing her directly. "Holly, I _will_ fix this, but I need you to do something first."

The elf couldn't stop a feeling of apprehension creeping into her limbs. "What is it?"

Artemis gave her a reassuring smile, perhaps sensing her trepidation. "Nothing strenuous. It'll be dark soon and there's a full moon tonight; I need you to complete the ritual. You will need all the magic you can if we are to succeed in eradicating the parasite."

The reply did nothing to abate Holly's worries. Artemis may have been a genius, but his record wasn't exactly stellar when it came to playing with magic.

"Why?" she asked.

Artemis looked away. "It's complicated," he muttered. "Difficult to explain."

Holly looked hard at him as he steadfastly refused to meet her eyes. It wasn't like him to decline the opportunity to explain complicated to someone who was unlikely to understand. It was obvious he was trying to hide something.

She adopted a stern expression. "Artemis-"

"Holly," he interrupted. "The details aren't important. What matters is that I can fix this, if, and only if,you complete the ritual. Do you trust me?"

"Artemis-"

" _Holly!_ " Finally, he met her gaze, eyes blazing with purpose. "Do you trust me?"

The elf glared at him for a full minute before she left to collect her wings. She didn't need to say anything; they both knew the answer to his question.

* * *

When fairies complete the ritual, the rush of power as magic surged through every nerve ending was generally accompanied a sudden euphoria. Holly was used to feeling invincible when she was full to the brim was magic. She couldn't ever remember feeling like this before.

A kind of foreign terror clawed at her insides as she touched back down in the Fowl Manor grounds. The dull orange glow of sunset was gone from the sky; the last pitiful rays of sunlight had withered and died, and what few light sources did litter the Fowl Estate failed to penetrate the thick gloom clinging to the grounds. Night had well and truly come, and with it, a sense of terrible foreboding.

As a fairy, Holly would normally have drawn comfort from the familiar darkness, but not tonight. She turned her eyes skyward, seeking the solace of the full moon, but was not rewarded. The moon sat hidden, its pearly glow shrouded by clouds.

She tried to dislodge the feeling of despair that stuck in her gut. She tried to ignore what was happening at that very moment inside her own body, to concentrate not on the parasite, but on the battles that would still need to be fought once Artemis had cured her. She succeeded at neither.

It wasn't that she was in any way a stranger to having her life in danger – she had been in so many near-death situations she had lost count – or to the fear that came alongside. But every other time, it had always been in the midst of some great battle, or else a deadly race against time. There had always been a tangible enemy – a troll, perhaps, or a bio-bomb; even a giant space probe.

But not this time. This time, the enemy was inside her. _No,_ she reminded herself, barely supressing s shiver, _it was a_ part _of her._ And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She was a fighter – she was used to solving problems with action; used to enemies that could be fought, enemies she could punch, or shoot, or throw grenades at.

She didn't know how long she had. If Artemis had managed to extrapolate the rate at which the parasite would spread sufficiently to be fatal, he hadn't bothered to share it with her. Her heart beat a rapid rhythm against her ribs like some caged animal, desperate to be free. Did it know the parasite was coming for it? Would it continue to beat once her life had faded, or would it lie dormant as her body joined Opal's ranks of living dead?

Even though she had more than once been certain that she was about to die, there had never really been time to think about it. She longed for it to be that way now: to die suddenly, without time to worry or regret, would be infinitely preferable to this. Having to simply wait as her seconds ticked away, with nothing to do but think, was a torture unlike anything she had experienced.

A part of was strangely envious of Artemis. He had given his life _for_ something. She wished that she had had the chance die for something important; to die in battle, fighting against evil, or else to throw herself in front of someone she loved. If only it could have been her instead or Artemis that had stayed behind to sacrifice herself in the Nebula Facility, she could never have been infected; her death would have had value, and Artemis's family would never have been put through hell.

 _Don't think that!_ she tried to tell herself. _You aren't going to die. Artemis will save you. He promised._

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she thought she could almost sense the parasite within her, spreading out hungrily, desperate to consume her. Feel its malice, its desire to dominate. Would Artemis really be able to stop it?

 _He promised. I trust him._

Perhaps it wasn't a question of trust. Perhaps it wasn't possible.

 _He promised._

She clung to the notion like a new-born clinging to its mother, drawing what little comfort she could, using it to sustain her as she made her way into the manor.

Yes, Artemis had promised, and yes, she trusted him, so she would give him the chance to try and cure her. But if it didn't work…

The elf failed to suppress a shudder as she thought of what she would end up as. She remembered the formers in Russia; soulless, savage animals, killing indiscriminately on the orders of Opal Koboi. She couldn't become like them, she wouldn't let it happen. Whatever she had to do to avoid that was nothing, because it was a fate too terrible to even contemplate.

Holly switched on her shield as she stalked the manor's corridors; she knew exactly what she had to do, what she had to ask, and she wasn't sure she could handle meeting anyone else on the way.

The elf navigated the passages easily – she knew Fowl Manor as though it were her own home – and she quickly found herself at her destination. The door to Butler's equipment locker surrendered quickly to her omnitool. Without pausing to look around at the plethora of dangerous weaponry, she selected a ceramic handgun at random and grabbed a pair of handcuffs.

* * *

Artemis was still in his lab when Holly caught up with him. Hearing the elf approach, he swallowed his fear, forcing his features to rearrange themselves into their normal mask of icy composure.

"Ah, Holly, perfect," he said, careful to keep his voice even, careful not to betray his worries. "I was wondering when you would be getting back. For optimal results, I recommend we commence treatment immediately."

Holly's eyes were hard. She looked as though she was trying to keep a lid on a deep internal struggle. She regarded him for a long moment, and Artemis had a strange feeling that she was sizing him up.

"I have conditions," she eventually.

Artemis raised an elegant eyebrow. "You wish to place conditions on my attempt to save your life?"

The elf nodded, drawing a black ceramic handgun from her belt. It was chunky and out-of-place clutched in her childlike fist. Artemis's eyes widened. She took a step towards him, carefully laying the weapon down on the table next to him. With her other hand, she held out the handcuffs.

"I have conditions," she repeated quietly, sounding like she had rehearsed the speech. "You will restrain me before administering whatever cure you have concocted, and under no circumstances will you release unless you are certain that the parasite is completely eradicated."

"Holly, I really don't think-"

"If whatever you attempt is unsuccessful," the elf continued as though she hadn't heard him. "You will not allow me to become one of those… those _things_." She inclined her head towards the gun, lying innocently on the table. "Do you understand?"

Artemis backed away, staring at the weapon without bothering to hide his distaste. It was a Belgian FN Five-seveN, a weapon he had seen Butler fire, and kill with, more than once. He had always considered guns simply to be tools, instruments that could be used against him, or used to his advantage. But as he stared at the Five-seveN, he couldn't help thinking there was something ugly – sinister, even – about it. Even the notion of touching it was repellent.

"Absolutely not, Holly."

Holly flicked the ignition for her wings and rose about a half metre off the ground so her eyes were level with Artemis's.

"I'm a danger to you," she said. She raised a hand and stared at it for a moment, as though expecting to see some kind of visible sign of the parasite's progress. "I'll be under Opal's control; she'll make me hurt you." Artemis was shocked to see an unshed tear in her eye. "I don't want to hurt you. Please."

"Holly, I understand you're afraid. I know I would be if I were in your position. But I will cure you, I promise. I have a plan. It will work, I know it will."

"Artemis…"

The boy looked away, but he was no more successful at hiding his tears than she had been.

"Ask me to do anything. Anything but this." He turned to face her. "You can't ask me to do this."

"It's kinder," said Holly gently. "You know it is. Hopefully, you'll cure me and it'll all be fine, but if it doesn't work-"

"Which it will!"

"- _if_ it doesn't work, the parasite _will_ kill me. Please, Artemis, if I have to die, let it be on my terms. Don't let me become a weapon for Opal to use against you."

Artemis took a step away from the elf, breathing hard. The rational part of him knew that in the end, it wouldn't matter what he said now, but even contemplating what Holly was suggesting made him feel ill. Though he knew he wouldn't have to follow through, and though it was what Holly wanted, agreeing to… to _kill_ her still felt like a terrible betrayal.

"Artemis, promise me."

Before Artemis had a chance to respond, they were interrupted by Butler.

"Artemis. Your mother wants to speak to you."

The boy barely spared his bodyguard a glance. "Understood, Butler, I will be there momentarily. I just need to administer Holly's cure – it would be unwise to delay further."

"Artemis," whispered Holly, grabbing his hand. "Promise me."

Artemis couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. "I promise," he muttered.

Holly gave his hand a squeeze and leaned in a little. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I even have to ask this of you, but it's better this way." She straightened up and composed herself. "OK, where do you want me?"

Artemis, who was carefully measuring out a syringe of a colourless liquid, looked up distractedly. "What? Oh, anywhere, it doesn't matter."

Holly chained herself a piece of apparatus she didn't recognise while Artemis finished filling the syringe with what she presumed was the cure he had been preparing while she was away performing the ritual. She looked a little more closely as the clear liquid; it didn't look very potent, and he wasn't using very much of it.

"Is that it?" she couldn't resist asking doubtfully.

Artemis gave a humourless chuckle and answered without looking up. "Trust me, Holly, this is more than enough." He straightened up, apparently satisfied, and carried the syringe over to her. "I've mixed in a slight sedative, so you should wake up in about six hours completely cured. Give me your arm."

As the elf extended her arm, awkwardly straining against the handcuffs, she felt a wave of apprehension slide over her. Once she was unconscious, she would be completely at the mercy of the parasite, and Artemis's mystery cure. Would it work? Or would she wake up a demon? Or would she never wake up at all?

"Artemis…" she looked pleadingly at him. "This… this could be goodbye." She wanted to say a proper goodbye to him, but she knew that a kiss would risk transferring the infection.

"Shhh, don't say that. Don't even think that. I'll be here when you wake up." He seemed to sense that she wasn't completely reassured and gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry," he said as he pulled up the sleeve of her LEP uniform to expose a patch of flawless coffee coloured skin. "You're going to be fine."

Despite the severity of the situation, Holly couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Can you guarantee that?"

Mindful to keep his expression unreadable, Artemis chose his words carefully, making sure they were true. "I can guarantee that this will eliminate the infection, yes." He placed the end of the needle against Holly's skin.

"Will it hurt?" The words were out before she could stop them.

Artemis smiled kindly. "No," he said, the lie coming easily. "Not at all." He pressed the needle into the elf's arm and deposited its contents into her bloodstream. Her eyes immediately began to lose focus. She would lose consciousness in seconds. "Goodnight," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her lightly on the forehead.

Butler respectfully waited a few moments before speaking. "If you don't mind me asking, sir," he said. "What did you promise her?"

Artemis's gaze didn't leave Holly's sleeping form as he responded. "I promised that if I can't cure her, I will end it quickly for her. That I will kill her."

Butler expression didn't register surprise. His eyes found the Five-seveN lying discarded on the side. He had expected the elf to ask for something like that sooner or later. It was what he would have done.

"And will you?"

Artemis didn't speak for a long time. Just when Butler was convinced that he had overstepped his boundaries and wouldn't be getting a response, his young charge said quietly, "It doesn't matter now."

Butler frowned. "What do you mean?"

Artemis bit his lip, keeping the clawing fear at bay. He had to stay disconnected from the reality of what was happening to Holly right now. If he didn't, if he took a moment to consider it, he would surely fall apart. He had to be as he had once strived to be: indifferent. Detached.

" _Cure_ is perhaps a generous description for what I have given her," he said dispassionately. " _Poison_ would probably be closer to the truth. I have injected her with a highly potent toxin that will target and destroy the infected cells. It will purge her of the parasite, but the damage to her body will be considerable at best. We can only hope that her magic is able repair enough of the damage to keep her alive during the purging process."

Shock flitted across Butler's normally smooth features. "What are her chances?"

"Difficult to say," Artemis responded in the same apathetic tone, his face devoid of emotion. "Forty percent, maybe a shade less."

Butler momentarily lost for words. It was more likely than not that Holly would _die_?

"And there's nothing more you can do?" he asked once he had found his voice.

"The parasite is a part of her; to attack one is to attack the other. Perhaps, with several years of research and my substantial resources, I might be able to identify a way to eliminate the parasite with minimal collateral damage, but with only a few hours and limited information, I am afraid that this is the best I can do."

For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Butler muttered, "You told her it wouldn't hurt." He sounded like he was talking to himself more than anyone else.

Artemis shrugged. "I lied. Purging her body of the parasite will be extraordinarily painful. Now, what were you saying about Mother?"

Butler was so thrown by the sudden change of topic that it took him a few seconds to respond.

"Oh," he said. "Yes. She said she needed to speak to you about something; she's waiting in the living room."

Artemis nodded absently. "Yes," he muttered. "I'll go and talk to her." He made to leave the laboratory, but was interrupted by his fairy phone ringing. He frowned and shot a confused glance at Holly – she and Foaly were the only ones who even had this number. Since Holly obviously wasn't the one calling, that left only one option: Foaly. The only question was, what did the centaur want? Was he going to reprimand Artemis for escaping the LEP's custody in Egypt? Or perhaps he had spoken to Holly and found out about her infection?

Unable to shake off a certain sense of foreboding, he raised the phone to his ear. "Yes?"

The fairy technology delivered the crisp response in perfect quality. The speaker may as well have been standing next to him.

"Artemis Fowl," said Opal Koboi. "I've waited a long time for this."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, well, well. Opal's here, and she doesn't sound like she's in the mood for fun and games. Who's ready for a few chapters of sheer violence and destruction? As usual, any feedback or thoughts you might happen to have would be much appreciated in a review :)

-Kio


	14. Trapped

**A/N:** This chapter is really overdue, sorry! I meant to upload it two weeks ago, and forgot, and then last week, but I was super busy so couldn't find time to edit it. It's a relatively short one, too, so sorry about that as well. Still, I hope you enjoy it!

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 14; Trapped**

 **Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Artemis raised the phone to his ear. "Yes?"

The fairy technology delivered the crisp response in perfect quality. The speaker may as well have been standing next to him.

"Artemis Fowl," said Opal Koboi. "I've waited a long time for this."

It took Artemis a few seconds to compose himself, masking his surprise. An age, by his standards.

"Koboi. I was wondering when I would get the chance to talk to you."

Opal seemed delighted. "Oh, is that right? Well, I suppose talking to me is a real treat, so it makes sense. Was there anything in particular you wanted to say? An apology, perhaps?"

Artemis sighed. "Think about what you are doing," he said. "These… creatures you are using. You cannot possibly think this will end well for anyone involved."

Opal's voice hardened. "If I were you, I would have taken the opportunity to apologise," she spat. "Instead of talking about things of which you know nothing."

Artemis decided to take a risk. "I know all about the parasite, and the hivemind. Surely you don't believe you can control it indefinitely?"

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line as Opal processed this information. Of course, Artemis knew very little about parasite and had only guessed that the hivemind even existed, but it would be better having Opal believe that he knew all about them. Besides, if nothing else, her silence confirmed his theory.

"How?" she managed eventually. "How did you find out about it? I thought I alone discovered the secret of the dead city… not that it matters what you know. Soon, very little will matter at all."

Artemis had no idea what the dead city was, let alone its secret, but he filed the information away for later before continuing trying to appeal to Opal's reason.

"Please, Opal, listen to me. You won't be able to control them forever. The parasite will ravage the entire planet. It will consume all life, including you. What you're doing is suicide."

"You speak like the parasite is evil. Like it's a bad thing. But you're wrong. The parasite is… _perfect_. It is strong, while humanity, and the People, are weak. It is only natural that the strong should vanquish the weak."

Artemis tried not to let this development unsettle him. Once Holly was better, they would stop her. He knew they would.

"Why did you call, Opal? What do you want?"

The pixie let out shriek of girlish laughter. "What do I want? Hmm, let's see. You murdered me. What do you think I want?"

Artemis didn't bother correcting her about the murder of her future self – he doubted it would make the slightest bit of difference, and if Opal was unaware of Natalya's involvement, he saw no reason to tell her otherwise. Information was power, after all; why give Koboi any for free?

"Revenge," continued Opal. "Nothing more, nothing less. You see, you took everything from me. My future. My _life_. Now I'm going to take everything from you."

Artemis felt a sudden chill make its way up his spine. "What are you talking about?"

When Opal responded, her voice was soft. "Do you know what I care about more than anything else in the world? Think now, Fowl, this is important."

Artemis didn't need to think. He knew the answer at once. "Yourself."

"Exactly. And that's what you took from me. Now, I have to wonder; what do you care about the most in the world?"

Artemis's eyes found Holly completely of their own accord. He clutched the phone so tightly his knuckles went white. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"I think that, once upon a time, you were like me," Opal carried on quietly, apparently unfazed by his silence. "You cared for yourself above all others. But that isn't the case anymore, is it? I hear you attempted to sacrifice yourself to save the world. To save your family. To save the elf, Holly Short. At least, that's what Foaly's files say. So, I think that to hurt you the way you hurt me, I shouldn't just kill you. I should kill them first. What do you think?"

Artemis's mouth was dry. Even if he had wanted to speak, he didn't think he would have been able to.

"Tell me, Artemis Fowl," said Opal, her voice softer still. "Where are your parents? Your brothers? Where are your Butlers? Where is Holly Short?"

 _We're all at Fowl Manor. And she knows. She will already be on her way._

"Look out of the window, Artemis Fowl," whispered Opal, making no attempt to hide the malicious glee in her voice.

Artemis did as he was told. It was immediately obvious what he was supposed to be looking for: an azure haze was steadily descending over the Fowl Estate. The exact same haze that he had seen all those years ago, when he was only twelve years old with a fairy locked in the basement. It had been exciting, then. A demonstration that his plan was proceeding as planned.

But not today. Today, the sight brought only fear. A kind of primal fear sunk its teeth into his mind and threatened to consume him. _It's too late. We're trapped. Of course, she wouldn't be calling if there was still time to escape. We're all trapped here in the manor. I couldn't have made it easier for her if I tried._

"There is no way out, Fowl. Everyone you care about will either be torn apart before your eyes, or assimilated into my army. The Fallen have orders to keep you alive until the others are all dead, so don't think you will be spared from having to witness the slaughter."

When Artemis finally found his voice, the was a hopeless, defeated edge to it that no one who knew him would have ever associated with him.

"Why call? Why give me any warning at all?"

Opal Koboi laughed. "I wanted you to feel the same despair that I felt when I saw my body. And I wanted you to know why everyone you love is going to die. I wanted you to know that it was because of your actions. All of this is nobody's fault but yours."

Artemis severed the call and dropped the phone. He didn't even realise that his hands were shaking. He knew that he should be using what little time he had to try and prepare, to try and protect his family, but he couldn't think. There was only space in his head for terror; everything else was squashed to the side, insignificant.

"Artemis."

The boy didn't hear his name. He was busy looking at Holly, wishing that she was awake. The elf had now entered a feverish sleep, and was starting to shudder, rattling the cuffs keeping her in place. A low moan escaped her lips as the pain began to set in, but Artemis knew that she would get much worse before she got better.

 _At least the end will be painless for her,_ he couldn't help thinking. _She will still be asleep when they come for her._

"Artemis!"

This time, Butler's voice managed to cut through his young charge's despair. The boy turned to his manservant, his eyes wide and pleading. For perhaps the first time, the mask of icy composure that he always wore was completely gone. In its place was only fear.

"Artemis? What is it?"

Artemis tried to pull himself together, but he couldn't. The enormity of the situation was too much to contain.

"They're coming," he finally managed. "The formers."

Butler's eyes hardened. "We have to leave, now."

Artemis shook his head. "No, old friend. We're in a time-stop. There is no way out."

Butler frowned, trying to see what he was missing. "But we escaped before, didn't we? Why can't we do it again?"

Artemis smiled. "You're right; we could drug ourselves and escape the time-stop. We would be transported back into the present, unconscious. However, Opal would simply wait until the time-stop breaks down and waltz in here to kill us while we sleep. The only thing that stopped the LEP doing exactly that was the Book. Somehow, I don't think Opal will care for such things."

"So we have to fight?"

Artemis didn't reply. The hopelessness was returning to his eyes.

"Artemis, snap out of it! We need a plan, or your family will die."

The boy took a breath and pulled himself together. He nodded. "You're right," he said. "I can't fall apart; I need to be strong."

"Exactly. Now, what do we do?"

Artemis considered it. "With Holly unconscious, you and Juliet are the only fighters we have. We should move my family in here with Holly and I'll seal them in; it won't hold Opal for long, but it should at least keep them safe from the formers. I doubt they'll bother trying too hard to get in while there are still victims alive in the rest of the house. I assume the armoury is still well-stocked?"

Butler nodded. "Naturally."

"Excellent. Our entire objective is to buy as much time as possible – if we can outlast the time-field, we have a good chance to survive. I doubt the time-stop will have gone unnoticed by the LEP. In fact, considering that Holly is here, Foaly will probably already be trying to work out a way to assist us. Opal won't dare stick around for long once the time-field collapses."

"How long will that take?"

Artemis shrugged. "Difficult to say. Foaly was able to extend his time-stops for up to eight hours. However, I doubt Opal has had the chance to perfect the technology the same way our horsey friend did, and assuming she charged the batteries herself – I don't see how else she could have done it – they won't have the same potency as if they were charged by experienced warlocks. Opal may be powerful, but in many ways, she's still a novice."

Butler didn't look impressed. "So you have no idea?"

"I didn't say that," Artemis smirked. "If I had to guess, I would estimate that we'll be in Limbo for three, maybe four hours. Not ideal, certainly, but better than eight."

Butler nodded, already running through potential scenarios in his mind. It was conceivable that they might be able to hold off the formers for a few hours.

"Fetch Juliet," Artemis was saying. "Go to the armoury and stock up while you can. Set up Claymores around the perimeter and at any entrances to the manor. Use sniper rifles and mounted machine guns to thin the horde as they approach."

Butler nodded once again - the boy's ideas made perfect sense. But there was one thing he hadn't accounted for.

"What about you?"

Artemis's face was set. "Get me a weapon, something easy to use. I doubt I'll be a huge amount of help, but it's better than nothing."

"Absolutely not," said Butler immediately. "There's no way I'm letting you risk that. Besides, I can hardly focus on keeping them at bay when I'm looking out for you, can I?"

Much to Butler's surprise, Artemis smiled, silently acknowledging the point. "Don't worry about me, old friend. They won't touch me while my family is still alive. We might as well try and take advantage of that."

Butler was far from convinced about this, but in his heart, he didn't think it would matter. Despite what he had said to try and reassure Artemis, he didn't really see a way that they were going to be able to hold the formers off for anywhere near long enough to outlast the time-stop. If they were all going to die tonight, why deny his young charge the chance to die fighting? If it was what he wanted…

A part of Butler knew that his thought process would have had Madame Ko turning in her grave – as a bodyguard, under no circumstances should he be letting his charge actively put himself in danger. But Artemis wasn't the only person in the house he had to worry about, and if the young genius was right that Koboi's forces wouldn't attack him until the others were dead, maybe he could help fend off the horde.

"Very well. I'll get you a weapon, but be careful. Don't you dare get yourself killed again."

Artemis gave a grim smile. "I'm sorry, old friend. If they've been ordered not to attack me, I should be the one being the least careful."

Butler opened his mouth to argue, but Artemis cut across him. "We're running out of time. Just trust me, OK? I'll be fine. Now, go!"

The manservant held his gaze for a full second before turning on his heel to begin preparing for the second siege of Fowl Manor.

Artemis watched him go. His head was a mess of different ideas and emotions, but there was one thought that echoed around more loudly and more incessantly than the others.

 _I wish I had said goodbye to Holly._

* * *

"Artemis, what on Earth are you talking about?"

Artemis sighed in frustration. "Please, Mother, there is no time to explain. We are all in terrible danger. You _must_ come with me."

Angeline, Artemis Sr. and the twins were all gathered in the Fowl Manor entrance hall. None of them looked unduly worried. If anything, they looked more concerned about Artemis Jr.'s state of mind than their own safety.

"From what exactly?" asked Artemis Sr., not bothering to hide his cynicism. "First you show up miraculously alive and disappear off to your lab, then I see Butler carry a heavy machine gun into the house and now you're talking about us being some kind of danger! What is going on here?"

Artemis Jr. ground his teeth. "Do you remember when I arrived this morning?" They nodded. "Do you remember the creature I brought with me?" His parents recoiled visibly at the mention of the former. "I believe I said at the time that it was the danger. Well, hundreds of them are coming here as we speak and they are going to kill us all."

Angeline gasped. Artemis Sr.'s simply stared. The twins exchanged looks of confusion.

"What Artemis talking 'bout?" Beckett asked Myles. But his twin didn't respond; he had understood exactly what Artemis had said. Now, he was looking at his big brother intently, trying to find the lie in his eyes. But it wasn't there.

"W-w-we…" stammered Angeline uncertainly, unused to being the one the firing line during one of her son or husband's schemes. "W-we should get away…"

"We can't!" snapped her son. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm, forcefully steering her to a window. "Look," he instructed, unable to quite keep the desperation out of his voice. "See that blue haze? That's a time-stop, just like the LEP put over us when I kidnapped Holly. Remember me telling you about that? Well, this time, we can't escape it. So please, please listen to me and do what I say."

Artemis Sr., was frowning. "Wait a minute… you kidnapped Holly? Why? When?"

His son's patience finally snapped. "We don't have time for this!" he shouted. He took several deep breaths, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. "Just come with me. Please."

The short walk to Artemis's lab was passed in shocked silence. When they arrived, Myles and Beckett were immediately fascinated by Holly.

"Artemis, look! A fairy!"

"Wow, a fairy. Look!"

Artemis ignored them. He had too much to deal with right now. Instead, he addressed his parents. "Stay here," was all he could manage. "Don't let them break anything. I'll be back; I promise."

Angeline nodded towards Holly, concern written all over her face. "What's wrong with her?"

Artemis took one look at the elf and felt his composure break. Unbidden, a tear slipped from his eye. Even though she was still unconscious, Holly was shuddering violently, muttering unintelligibly in Gnomish. Even as Artemis watched, a particularly vicious spurt of tremors wracked her body and she cried out in pain. Several blue sparks danced across her forehead before sinking into her skin.

"She's dying," he whispered. "I tried to save her… but I don't think it's going to work. I don't think she's going to make it."

Angeline opened her mouth to offer a few words of comfort to her son, but Artemis had already gone, closing the heavy steel door behind him. A moment later, an automated female voice rang out.

"Lockdown initiated. Laboratory sealed."

On the other side of the door, Butler was waiting for Artemis. He was clad in full body armour and looked like he was carrying enough weaponry to wage a small war.

"Everything is in place, I trust?" the boy asked his bodyguard.

Butler nodded. "Claymores along the main path to the manor, napalm canisters buried in the grounds, and I even took the liberty of rigging up the gate with C4."

Artemis smiled appreciatively. "Good thinking, Butler."

"I must admit," replied the manservant. "I didn't think I would have time to do it all. I expected Opal to be here already."

"I too, old friend. I suppose she wanted us trapped sooner rather than later, but it cannot be easy to manoeuvre such a vast army of mindless savages unseen. I wonder how she is doing it…"

"We can worry about that if we last the night," said Butler. He drew a pistol and a pouch of spare magazines. "Glock 17. I tried to teach you shoot with one of these a few years ago."

Artemis nodded. He remembered. Glocks was common, incredibly effective and relatively easy to shoot. Butler had had a custom trigger installed, telling him that most beginners struggled with the Glock's stock one. Not that it had made a difference – Artemis had still failed miserably to hit the centre of the target.

Butler quickly reminded him how to cock and reload the Glock before reluctantly holding it out to him. "This should have enough stopping power to bring down a former with a few well-placed shots."

Artemis reached out a hand and took the weapon. Whereas the Five-seveN Holly had offered him earlier had seemed oddly sinister, the Glock felt comfortable in his hand. It felt right. He knew that this weapon could end saving the lives of his family, or even his own life.

"What now?"

Butler didn't have to ask what his young charge meant. He hefted the sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. "I'm heading to the upper floors to see how many I can pick off as they approach. Juliet's setting up in the entrance hall, I would go and support her."

Artemis's throat was suddenly dry. The combination of leaving Butler and the gun in his hand was making everything feel even more real than it had a moment ago.

Butler held out a small communicator. "Juliet has one as well. Stay in touch." He smiled. "Good luck, Artemis."

Artemis returned the smile. "And you, old friend."

* * *

As promised, Artemis found Juliet in the entrance hall. Just like her brother, she was kitted out in body armour and armed to the teeth. The heavy oaken doors to the hall stood open, and in their place Juliet had built a crude barricade out of furniture. An M249 machine gun was mounted on top, its long belt of brass rounds stretching out over the floor. Right now, Juliet looked to be placing small blocks of C4 plastic explosive to the doorframe.

"Ready for war, I see," Artemis commented drily as he approached her.

Juliet didn't stop what she was doing, but he noticed her narrowing her eyes slightly. "You shouldn't be out here. You should be safely locked in your lab with the others."

Artemis shrugged. "And yet," he said. "Here I am." He nodded towards the explosives rigged up around the Fowl Manor entrance. "So what's the plan down here?"

"I'll try and cut down as many as I can while drawing them towards me. When they get close, we retreat and detonate the explosives. C4 can be shaped to direct the blast; I've aimed most of explosion outside to catch as many formers as possible, but I've pointed a few charges upwards to collapse the entrance. It won't delay them long, but it's better than nothing."

Artemis couldn't help thinking of the first Fowl Manor siege, when the LEP had completely destroyed this very hall by releasing a troll into it. It was probably going to be in even worse condition by the time Juliet had finished with it than it had been then.

"We?" he asked casually.

Juliet finally turned to him, speaking in a tone that brooked no argument. "I don't care what you say about them being ordered not to target you – you aren't leaving my sight till that time-stop collapses. No exceptions."

The communicator Butler had given him suddenly crackled to life before he had a chance to try and argue.

"I have movement on the horizon," said Butler's voice. "We've got company."

Almost unconsciously, Artemis tightened his grip on the Glock in his hand. This was it. They were coming.

 _And so it begins._

* * *

 **A/N:** And so it begins indeed. Next few chapters should be action packed and full of suspense, so at least there's that to look forward. Hopefully it won't take me so long to upload them, although I have quite a few deadlines at the moment, so maybe not. Still, my term is almost over, and when it is, I promise I will be back to updating regularly again! At least, for a month or two.

The continuing support on this story means a huge amount to me, so thank you! As usual, I would love you hear what you thought in a review!

-Kio


	15. Siege

**A/N:** So, I finally got around to updating. Sorry about the delay. This chapter is pretty long though, so hopefully that at least in part makes up for it. I'll be sure to get the next one up this weekend in time for Christmas :)

Anyway, this is where things get pretty hectic – the second siege of Fowl Manor. Lots of action, lots of explosions, lots of violence. Fun for the whole family.

One thing to note – the actual size of Fowl Manor is never specified, and like many things, seems to vary somewhat. According to the description in the first book and the picture on the Wikipedia page, it's pretty huge. Imagine any of the really big English stately homes (something like Longleat House for anyone familiar with that). Basically, massive castle/palace with more than enough space for a lot of people to get very lost in. Keep that scale in mind, otherwise this chapter will not make sense.

Well, now that's out of the way, let's get into the action. Enjoy!

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 15; Siege**

 **Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Now that they were finally inside the time-stop, the sea of former humans swarmed towards the ancient Fowl stronghold like a plague, innumerable and unstoppable. They rushed towards the gates, spurred on by their mistress's bloodlust.

Several hundred metres away, in the top of one of Fowl Manor's stone turrets, lay Domovoi Butler, watching their progress through a pair of high-power binoculars. In his free hand was a remote detonator, his thumb resting delicately on the trigger. Next to him was an M110 semi-automatic sniper rifle, already loaded and trained on the grounds.

Butler watched as the formers reached the gates. He watched as they forced their way through the reinforced steel gates, completely unaffected by the electric current being pumped through the metal. He watched as they began to flood through the narrow entrance into the grounds. Still he waited; still his thumb sat calmly on the detonator's trigger.

Ten were through. Now fifteen. Now twenty. And that was when Butler pressed down the trigger.

For a split-second, nothing happened. Then, all twenty blocks of C4 high explosive placed around the gates simultaneously detonated with an impossibly loud crack. There was no spectacular fireball like in the movies – only a sudden cloud of thick smoke – but the force of the explosion shook the manor to its very foundations. The blast tore a massive chunk out of the metre-think stone walls that surrounded Fowl Manor and left a huge, smouldering crater where the gates had been. There was no sign of the formers that had been swarming into the grounds. In their place, the smoke began to settle, forming an eerie blanket of unnatural fog.

"Kaboom," muttered Butler, a grim smile on his face. He shifted to the side, positioning himself behind the M110. He took a moment to get comfortable, nestling the rifle's stock into the crook of his shoulder and putting his eye to the scope.

Within seconds, a fresh wave of former humans was staggering through the rubble, over the mutilated remains of their comrades. Butler picked a target at random, quickly lining up the former's head in his crosshairs and squeezing the trigger. He watched in satisfaction as the round struck the creature's skull, killing it instantly.

"Goodnight, you bastard," he whispered, already lining up another shot. Again, he squeezed the trigger. And again. And again. Every shot brought down its target, but there were too many of them. He was only scratching the surface, and the horde was rapidly approaching Fowl Manor. Soon, he would be forced to move down to the lower levels to assist Artemis and Juliet.

"D'Arvit," he swore, slotting in a fresh twenty-round magazine and casting aside the empty one. Below him in the grounds, he heard the explosion as the first of the Claymores was triggered, and the distant rattle of a machine gun as Juliet opened fire.

Pulling back the slide to chamber the first round of the new magazine, Butler brought the rifle back up to his shoulder, ready to fire again. The formers were all over the grounds now, surging towards the manor. He could see at least a hundred, and there was still more movement on the horizon.

It was going to be a long night.

He squeezed the trigger, sending another round into the darkness. This time, the bullet passed straight through the head of former he had been aiming for into the one behind.

Butler smiled slightly as he continued to fire into the horde. "Double kill," he said to himself. "Nice one."

* * *

Artemis couldn't quite suppress a sigh as he watched Butler detonate the C4 around the gates to the estate. Those walls had stood for five hundred years. They were irreplaceable. Soldiers had no respect for history.

 _Forget about it_ , he told himself. _If it helps keep us all alive, it's worth it._

Next to him, Juliet was knelt behind the machine gun, eyes fixed on the crater where the gates had been a few moments before. She knew that more of the creatures would soon emerge through the smoke. She had to be ready.

Sure enough, a few moments later, dark shapes started moving in the fog. The shadows grew steadily more distinct, quickly becoming recognisable as human figures. The formers staggered through the wreckage, out into the grounds.

High above him, Artemis could hear the distinct crack of gunshots as Butler started putting shots downrange. For every crack, a former would stumble and fall like a marionette with its strings cut.

Artemis turned to the girl next to him, an eyebrow raised. "Well? Aren't you going to shoot them?"

Juliet's eyes never left the oncoming horde. "Wait for it," she murmured.

Once the formers were about half way across the grounds, there was a very soft click from the ground, lost in the sounds of the stampede. A former had broken one of infrared laser beams connected to a Claymore.

The Claymore was a directional anti-personnel mine that operated a bit like a mix between a shotgun and a fragmentation grenade. A moment after it was triggered, the layer of shaped plastic explosive inside was detonated, instantly killing the formers near to the mine itself and shooting a lethal salvo of superheated metal balls in a wide arc in front of the mine. At least twenty former humans were torn apart immediately, with yet more horrifically mutilated by the deadly volley.

Artemis's eyes widened. "That was a lot more violent than I was expecting. How many are there?"

Juliet's bleak features rearranged themselves into a grim smile. Even as she opened her mouth to speak, another group of formers were shredded by a second Claymore.

"Enough," she shrugged. "We just need to give them a reason to come and trigger the rest." She placed her free hand on top on the machine gun's stock for stability and squeezed the trigger, firing a controlled three second burst into a group of formers.

The horde reacted instantly. As one, the formers seemed to lock onto the gunner at the front of the entrance hall: they had located their first victim. Instead of simply charging vaguely towards the manor, they changed direction, running straight at the front entrance, screaming their bloodlust into the night.

"That's it," grinned Juliet. "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."

She squeezed the trigger again, this time keeping it pressed down, spraying indiscriminately into the mass of incoming targets. The M249 chewed up the ammunition belt at an alarming rate, spewing out a never-ending stream of high velocity rounds. Juliet swept the weapon from side to side, not bothering to aim. It was horribly effective; everywhere Artemis looked, former humans were falling, black blood splattering over the ground and their comrades.

The noise of battle was tremendous. Even from so close, he could barely hear the rattle of Juliet's machine gun over the shrieks of the formers. The periodic explosions of Claymores as the formers got closer and closer to the house only served to make it worse.

With the help of the traps they had laid in preparation, the two Butler siblings were doing a reasonable job of impeding the horde's advance. But despite their best efforts, the formers were still making progress, steadily drawing nearer to the manor. They sprinted on through the hail of bullets, leaping over the increasingly large number of bodies strewn about the grounds, unafraid of the defenders' dwindling supply of Claymores. It was clear to that it wouldn't be possible to keep them out of the manor for much longer.

"Artemis," grunted Juliet. "I'm running low on rounds and we're running low on time. In my chest pocket – no, the one nearest to you – is the detonator for the incendiaries my brother buried in the grounds. Grab it." Artemis did as he was told while Juliet kept up the fire. "Good. Activate it on my mark."

Artemis gritted his teeth, clutching the detonator between sweaty fingers. It felt oddly harmful in his hand, as though if he wasn't careful, it would explode instead of napalm outside. Next to him, Juliet had switched back to controlled bursts, making her last rounds count, carefully picking of any formers that got too close to them.

The mechanical click signalling that she was out of ammo was entirely inaudible over the sounds of the approaching formers. A split-second later, the final Claymore, positioned directly in front of the entrance hall, detonated. The nearest formers were instantly engulfed in a hail of deadly ball bearings and shrapnel, buying Artemis and Juliet a few moments longer.

"I'm out!" shouted Juliet, trying desperately to be heard over the ringing the nearby explosion had left in their ears. She gestured to the now lifeless machine gun in front of her to illustrate her point. "Now, Artemis! Hit it!"

Artemis stared at her, noncomprehension written all over his face. He was further out of his depth than he had ever believed possible. A former human was already clambering over Juliet's improvised barricade, screaming at the top of its lungs the moment it caught sight of them.

Juliet responded without thinking, bringing up the assault rifle slung over her shoulder and taking down the threat with a quick burst.

" _Artemis_!" she screamed, pointing frantically to the detonator sitting all but forgotten in Artemis's hand. Understanding flickered across the boy's face. He fumbled with the detonator for a moment before finding the trigger.

"Let there be light," he whispered to himself, and flicked the switch.

The result was instantaneous. The line of napalm canisters that Butler had buried just below the surface in the grounds erupted into brilliant flame, setting the darkness ablaze. It was easily one of the most spectacular things Artemis had ever seen; jets of flame soared into the sky, while rings of fire rippled out from each explosion, scorching everything they touched before burning themselves out.

The former humans unfortunate enough to have been caught near the blasts staggered desperately away from the flames, their skin coated in a sticky layer of burning napalm, shrieking in fury.

Even though the sudden explosion of light was already fading, pockets of flame all over the grounds continued to burn, casting a flickering glow over the destruction. The night was truly aflame.

Artemis and Juliet surveyed the carnage together. The incendiaries had certainly put a serious dent in the horde, but there were still vast numbers of formers left standing. And though they were moving more warily than before and the shrieking had died down, they were still coming towards the manor. In moments, they would reach the entrance hall.

"Come on, Artemis," called Juliet, already making her way up the staircase and deeper into the manor. "You don't want to be here when I blow the hall."

But Artemis wasn't listening. He was staring at the approaching formers, fascination all over his face.

" _Artemis_!" yelled Juliet, pulling the boy from his thoughts. Formers were already making their way over the barricade of discarded furniture. They would reach Artemis in seconds. "Get moving! I'll cover you."

Juliet rushed up the last few steps onto the first floor to give herself a better vantage point, and turned to see how Artemis was getting on. What she saw wasn't encouraging; the boy was running as fast he could, which wasn't very fast, and a pair of former humans were quickly gaining on him. One of them had a hand outstretched, fingers inches away from Artemis's shoulder.

Juliet instinctively dropped into a stable firing stance and brought the rifle up to her shoulder. Taking careful aim so as not to hit Artemis, she tapped the trigger twice, sending two rounds into the skull of former nearest to him. The next was more easily dispatched with a quick burst to the chest. She decided to drop the next closest three as well, just for good measure.

Once she was satisfied that Artemis was no longer in immediate danger, she pulled out the final detonator. The explosives rigged up in the entrance hall were the last trap that she and Butler had had time to set up, and she wanted to make good use of it.

Artemis hurtled up the last few steps and came to halt next to her, immediately falling to his knees and clutching at a stitch in his side, taking in huge gulps of air. Behind him, the formers were now flooding into Fowl Manor, heading towards the staircase.

Juliet still waited another few seconds, letting as many of them get into the kill zone as possible. Once they were almost at the base of the staircase, however, she could justify waiting no longer. She tossed the detonator into the air and caught it, squeezing the trigger as she did so. After all, Juliet Butler never could resist trying to win a few extra style points.

The moment the signal was sent, the bricks of C4 set up around the entranceway detonated, shattering glass and stone alike and sending a huge shockwave out into the horde of formers congregating outside, ripping skin and snapping bone. But it appeared that Juliet had overestimated the amount of C4 required to accomplish her goal. The explosion spread out hungrily, annihilating everything in its path. The entire Fowl Manor entranceway was blasted apart.

Not that Artemis saw any of this. The moment Juliet had triggered the detonation, she had grabbed the boy and thrown the two of them to the ground, shielding their eyes and faces from the storm of brick fragments and glass shards that filled the air. She could feel the tiny bits of debris raking her back, ripping her clothes and burying themselves in her skin, but at least neither of them would be blinded by the shrapnel.

Finally, the sounds of the explosion began to die away, leaving only a deafening ringing in both their ears. Juliet felt Artemis try and get up beneath her, but she kept him pinned down, knowing that it wasn't over yet.

Sure enough, there came a horrible lurching sound, and a moment later, the remaining walls and pillars began to buckle, no longer able to cope with the strain of holding up the remnants of the entrance hall. Great chunks of masonry rained down and a whole section of the upper stories started to cave in, depositing massive heaps of debris in the path of the formers.

Only once Juliet was sure the onslaught was finally over did she let up pressure on the boy shielded beneath her. Standing up slowly, she took stock of her new surroundings. There was only one word for the destruction she had managed to cause: spectacular. It looked as though someone had airlifted a warzone into the manor.

Artemis followed suit, shaking dust out of his clothes. His suit would be ruined, there was no doubt about that. But then he caught sight of the wreckage that had once been the grand entrance to his home, and he very quickly stopped worrying about his suit.

A low moan escaped his lips. "What did you _do_?"

Juliet shrugged, unconcerned. "Collapsed entrance hall: check. Delayed the bad guys: check. Us still alive: check. At least, for now. I would say everything is proceeding more or less according to plan."

"According to plan?" spluttered Artemis, gesturing at the rubble with a look of horror on his face.

Juliet was unapologetic. "A slight miscalculation, perhaps. Come on; we may have blocked that entrance, but there are plenty of other ways in."

As if on cue, there came the distinctive sound of breaking glass from beyond the wall of debris as the formers improvised their own entrances, smashing windows and forcing their way through any weakness they could find in the manor's exterior.

Artemis allowed Juliet to pull him deeper into the manor. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," the other girl admitted. "Away from them." An idea struck her. "Can they smell us?"

"I doubt it. Even though the parasite enhances physical attributes like speed and strength, their anatomy is still fundamentally still human. I see no reason why it would grant them superior senses. Why?"

"It's a big manor; if our only objective is to buy time, why not just try and lose them for a few hours?"

Artemis considered it. "That's not a bad idea. I don't like the idea of hiding and cornering ourselves, but I suppose avoiding them makes more sense than trying to make some kind of stand. I'm not sure how long we'll be able to evade them, though."

The pair carried on moving, leaving behind the destruction they had wreaked over the grounds and the main entrance and coming to an eventual halt on a third-floor landing. It wasn't part of the main living area and looked like no one had been there for several months.

While Artemis sat down to rest, Juliet listened carefully for any indication they were being followed.

"I don't hear anything," she said. "I suggest we wait here for a bit, unless you've got a grand scheme you want to enact."

Artemis smiled weakly. "Not right now, unfortunately."

Juliet glanced at him. "Actually, I was going to ask you something. Before I detonated the charges in the hall, you had that look on your face."

"What look?"

"You know, the look! The one you have when you figure something out, or have an idea. The one that Holly hates, because it usually means you're about to ask her to do something incredibly dangerous."

Comprehension flashed across Artemis's features. "Ah," he said. " _That_ look."

"So?" demanded Juliet. "What idea were you having?"

Artemis's face rearranged itself into its coveted smug grin. "It was more of an observation, really. I realised that the formers were behaving differently after I detonated the incendiaries in the grounds. Didn't you notice the change?"

Juliet thought back. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember a change in their behaviour. "They were more cautious, I guess. Almost like they were shaken."

Artemis smiled approvingly. "Well done."

"So? It's understandable. I doubt you'd be as sure of yourself if your enemies had just blown up and set fire to a bunch of your mates."

"No, Juliet, it isn't understandable. At least, not for them. Butler must have blown up about fifty with his charges around the gates, but were they fazed? No, they charged right across the crater. They knowingly ran straight through a minefield, while being shot at, completely unaffected by how many casualties they were sustaining."

Juliet frowned. "You're right," she admitted. "They didn't care what was happening to them, they just kept coming. But after the napalm went off, it was almost like they were…"

"Like they were scared," finished Artemis. "And the survivors were avoiding the remaining flames as though they were afraid of them."

"So, fire is a possible weakness?"

Artemis nodded. "It would seem so."

Juliet looked briefly happy, but then her expression turned sour. "It's not very practical. How are we supposed to exploit that?"

Artemis shrugged. "I'm working on it." He raised an eyebrow at Juliet, the ghost of a smile dancing across his lips. "I suppose we could always burn down the manor. It's not like there's much left of it."

Juliet scowled. "I'm sorry about your entrance hall, but I was trying to keep us alive. Besides," she added, just loud enough for Artemis to hear. "It _was_ in need of remodelling."

* * *

Butler had taken the explosion in the entrance hall as his cue to abandon his sniping position in the tower. Leaving the M110 where it was, the giant manservant retrieved the rest of his weaponry and began to descend the steps.

It wasn't long before he was back in the manor. He was fairly sure he could hear movement not too far from him, but there was no way to know whether it was Artemis and Juliet or a group of formers. To be on the safe side, he kept his own movements quiet, wary of drawing unnecessary attention to himself. He didn't know how much of the time-stop had elapsed, but he knew that plenty of hardship was still to come.

Holding his rifle one handed, Butler used his free hand to dig out his communicator.

"Juliet?" He spoke quietly, but clearly. "Do you copy?"

"I'm here, Dom."

Butler breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god you're still in one piece – that was one hell of an explosion you set off downstairs. Where are you now? Is Artemis still with you?"

"Yep, he's right here. We're biding our time on a third-floor landing, but we don't really have a plan." Juliet paused for a moment. "Did you enjoy the fireworks from up there?"

Butler couldn't resist smiling a little at that. "I can't deny that the napalm was pretty spectacular. I thought those things would never stop coming, but I think we took out a lot of them in the grounds."

Artemis decided to make his presence on the airwaves known. "How many do you think are left?"

"Difficult to say. Easily a hundred, maybe two hundred. Opal may even have more on their way. Either way, more than enough to make our lives very difficult indeed." A noise behind him caught the manservant's attention before he could say anything. "Speaking of which," he said. "I need to go. I'll contact you later."

He put away the communicator and raised his rifle, aiming it at the pair of formers that had just emerged from a corridor behind him.

"Evening gentlemen," he said, gripping the rifle. He would wait until the last possible moment to open fire; as soon as he pulled the trigger, his position would be crawling with former humans.

The first former growled and ran at him. Butler backed up, trying to buy himself a little extra time, but the creature was on him in seconds, leaping towards him with its teeth bared.

The manservant didn't bother to aim – he just squeezed the trigger, unleashing a hail of bullets that snatched his assailant straight out of the air. Without pausing for breath, he turned to the other former, dropping it with a quick headshot.

 _Time to move_ , he thought, setting off in a random direction. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around where he was. He could already hear the sound of formers converging on him.

Even as he thought, however, another group of formers was rounding the corner. Knowing there was no time for subtlety, he dropped into a crouch and brought up his rifle, emptying his magazine into the group.

A sound behind him.

Butler reacted more on instinct than on any rational thought. He didn't even realise what he was doing. He just knew that a moment later, his trusty Sig Sauer was in hand and there was a former human slumped against the wall next to him, a neat hole in its skull.

The bodyguard breathed a sigh of relief. _Even after all these years, I've still got it_ , he couldn't help thinking with a little smile. But the respite was short-lived; more formers were already pouring into the other end of the corridor.

Butler backed up, shouldering his rifle and grabbing a frag grenade from his belt. There was a soft clink as the pin fell to the floor. He immediately began a mental countdown.

 _Five._

The formers had spotted him and were sprinting forward.

 _Four._

He carried on moving backwards, running his hand along the wall next to him until it brushed against what he was looking for – a door handle.

 _Three._

The formers were getting closer all the time. Butler took a breath, resting his hand on the handle.

 _Two._

He tossed the grenade towards the formers as they rushed at him, simultaneously throwing open the door and diving inside.

 _One._

There was a huge crack from out in the corridor as the grenade detonated. Butler had his rifle back in hand, aiming at the doorway, waiting for any survivors. But they never came.

Cautiously, the bodyguard stepped out into the corridor. The was a charred hole a little further down where the grenade had actually detonated, and everything else bore the marks left behind by the lethal storm of shrapnel. The figures that littered the floor were just about recognisable as humanoid, but there was no movement.

Butler didn't wait around for the next wave of reinforcements. Stepping carefully around the bodies, he went straight to the hole the grenade had left in the floor and dropped quietly into the room below.

* * *

As it turned out, Butler wasn't the only one with company. A couple of former humans had found Artemis and Juliet as well. Juliet slotted a magazine into her assault rifle after she'd dispatched the last of them.

"We should move," she said to Artemis.

The youth nodded, not keen to hang around now that they'd announced themselves. He started to make a move, but Juliet wrapped a hand around his arm.

"I'll be taking point, thank you very much," she hissed. "I told you already, we're doing this carefully. Understand?"

Artemis nodded reluctantly. Since Opal had told him that the formers wouldn't kill him until the others were dead, he had decided it would make sense for him to go first. Juliet, apparently, did not share his thoughts.

The pair moved quickly and quietly, Juliet leading the way, their weapons up. Artemis hadn't been forced to shoot anything yet; he was rather hoping to keep it that way, but he doubted he would be able. As the formers spread out to search the manor, the number of safe havens would get smaller and smaller.

He shook his head. Opal had made a mistake coming for his family. If he made it out of this alive, he was going to hunt her down like the animal she was.

The two of them managed to avoid the formers for a few minutes, but then they ran into a massive group of formers, all facing away from them.

Juliet immediately shoved Artemis back into the shadows, pulling him into a sheltered alcove. "D'Arvit," she whispered.

"What is it?" Artemis asked her.

"Those things are everywhere; there's got to be at least thirty. No way we're getting through them."

"We'll have to go another way."

Juliet never got the chance to respond. At that moment, another group of former humans emerged from the way they had come. Juliet pulled Artemis even deeper into the shadows.

"More of them," she muttered. "We're completely trapped. They haven't seen us yet, but they'll pass right by us – there's no way we can hide."

Artemis bit his tongue in frustration. "There's less behind us. We'll have to make a break for it, see if we can push."

Juliet nodded grimly. She didn't like the idea, but she couldn't think of anything better. Their options were basically go forward, go backwards, or do nothing and wait to be discovered and torn apart – which, as the formers shambled closer, was seeming like a more and more likely outcome with every second.

"There's going to be a lot on our tail once we show ourselves," she whispered. "We're only going to have one shot at this. Right; close your eyes, and when I shove you, you run back the way we came. You don't look back. You don't stop, not for anything. Understand?"

Artemis considered arguing, but decided against it. Juliet was the soldier, not him, and he knew she would never compromise, whatever he said. He closed his eyes obediently.

Juliet took a deep breath and grabbed a flashbang grenade from her belt, silently pulling out the pin. She waited one full second before tossing it out of their hiding place into the middle of the corridor, turning her back on it and closing her eyes as it detonated, filling the corridor with blinding light.

Even as it went off, she was following up, grabbing a pair of high explosive grenades from her belt and ripping the pins. One went into the massive group of formers ahead of them, the other towards the formers that had inadvertently flanked her and Artemis. The ones that were still blinded by the flashbang. At least, the ones that would have been if they had still been human; unfortunately, the formers were no longer human, and nor were they alive. They just widened their eyes slightly, faintly surprised by the sudden light, and started running towards Artemis and Juliet.

Juliet grabbed Artemis and thrust him out of the alcove towards the smaller group of formers. Towards the second grenade she had just thrown.

"Run!" she screamed. "And shield your face!"

With no time for rational thought, Artemis did as he was told, bringing up his arms in front of his face. Behind him, the first grenade detonated, tearing apart a swathe of formers.

It was followed a moment later by the second grenade, dead ahead of him.

Artemis was protected from the worst of the blast by the wall of formers between him and the grenade itself, but he still felt the shockwave slam into him, driving the air from his lungs and threatening to bowl him over. He felt his arms burn in the sudden heat and shards of wreckage leave a myriad of gashes all over his body, but somehow, he managed to stay on his feet, stumbling but continuing to run in the opposite direction to the huge group of formers.

Wincing in pain, he lowered his arms back to his sides and risked a look at his current predicament. It didn't look good. He couldn't see Juliet, and though most of the formers that he had been running towards them now lay in pieces thanks to her grenade, there were still a few survivors picking themselves up. It seemed like he was going to have to get past them himself.

 _Maybe I can slip by before they get back up,_ he thought hopefully.

No such luck. As he tried to leap by, a legless former shot out a hand and wrapped it around his ankle. Suddenly anchored in place, Artemis flailed comically in mid-air for a moment before landing hard. He lashed out wildly at the former, catching its head with his foot more out of blind luck than anything else, forcing it to release him.

He scrambled up quickly as it tried to crawl towards him, the mutilated stumps where its legs had been leaving a sticky trail of black blood behind it. Breathing hard, Artemis glanced up, looking for Juliet. She was backing up towards him, burning through her remaining ammunition to try and keep the advancing formers at bay.

He was about to shout for her to run, to come with him, but he was grabbed from behind by strong hands before he could open his mouth. The former threw him to the ground and followed up immediately, trapping one of his arms under its leg and wrapping its fingers around his next.

Gasping for breath, Artemis tried to claw at the vicelike grip with his free hand, but he couldn't prise the fingers off his throat. Already he could feel his brain crying out for oxygen; in moments, he would lose consciousness.

"You can't," he managed to splutter as real desperation started to set in. "You can't kill me. Opal said so."

Perhaps it was his imagination, but a flicker of uncertainty passed across the former's face. The grip on his throat loosened a fraction and the former shifted slightly, shifting some of the weight off Artemis's trapped arm. With the last of his strength, Artemis wrestled the limb free, pulling it from beneath the creature on top of him.

It took him a moment to realise what was clutched in his newly freed hand; by some miracle of luck, he had managed to keep hold of the Glock through the excitement of the last minute. Without thinking, he raised the weapon and placed it under the former's jaw and pulled the trigger.

The result was instantaneous. There was a deafening crack and the former human's head simply came apart, sending shards of shattered skull in all directions and covering Artemis in a thin film of black blood.

For a moment, the boy simply lay there, ears ringing, too shocked to do anything, but then Juliet was by his side, reaching down and grabbing his arm. Her lips were moving, but Artemis couldn't make out the words over the high-pitched whine in his ears.

More formers were coming up behind her, charging towards the pair of them, but then Artemis felt himself being pulled to his feet. He didn't know what was happening; all he knew was that he was running, running harder than he ever had in his life, with Juliet ahead of him and the former humans breathing down his neck.

* * *

 **Artemis Fowl's Laboratory, Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Beckett was crying again. Angeline clutched him close to her and whispered words of comfort, but to little avail.

"Artemis going to die," whimpered the boy for the umpteenth time. "Don't want Artemis to die."

"Don't worry about Artemis," said Angeline soothingly. "He's going to be fine."

"How can be fine? We heard 'splosions and guns and stuff."

"He will be," his mother insisted, but her heart wasn't in it. How could she sound sure when she couldn't even convince herself that Artemis was going to be anything other than dead by morning? How could she tell her son not to worry when it seemed that she could do nothing else herself?

"Won't be. There's monsters out there, I heard him talking 'bout them."

Angeline gave a husband a pleading look. "Timmy, do something."

Artemis Sr. sighed and went over to them. "Come on," he said to Beckett, lifting him up and setting him down on his knee. "You trust your brother, don't you?"

Becket nodded slowly.

"Well," said Artemis Sr. firmly. "It's settled then. He promised us he would be back and that everything would be alright, all we have to do is trust him. Now, let's talk about something else…"

He carried on trying to comfort the boy, but Angeline had stopped listening. Her gaze had found Myles. He couldn't have reacted more differently from his twin if he had tried – instead of coming to pieces, Myles had simply gone to sit in a corner. The only time he had spoken was when his mother had asked what he was doing. All he had said was _"I'm waiting for Artemis."_

"Myles?" Angeline asked tentatively, getting up and moving towards him. "Are you alright?"

Myles refused to look at her. "I'm fine."

Angeline reached out a hand and laid it on his shoulder, but he threw it off.

"I'm fine."

Angeline sighed, but didn't push it. Myles reminded her so much of Artemis sometimes, and as proud as she was of her eldest, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

A voice from behind her cut through her thoughts.

"Artemis…"

She spun to see who had spoken. It took her a moment to realise that the words had come from Holly's mouth. The elf had been silent for a while, but now she was starting to shake again, her face contorted in pain.

"Artemis…" she managed in a strangled whisper. "Arty…"

Afterwards, Angeline didn't know exactly what it was that made her go over to the elf. Something deep within her just told her that it was the right thing to do.

"I'm sorry," she said. "He's not here right now, but he'll be back." Holly chose that moment to gasp out in pain, as though despite not being able to hear Angeline's words, she doubted their veracity. A single blue spark hopped lazily along her arm before winking out. "He will be," insisted Angeline. "He… he promised. He'll be back."

There was a dull echo of footsteps on the ceiling above them. All the lab's occupants went silent, exchanging looks.

"Timmy," said Angeline nervously. "Do you know if Artemis had the ceiling reinforced as well?"

Artemis Sr. looked unsure. "I think so," he offered. "But I'm not certain." A few seconds passed in uncomfortable silence before he added, "I hope he did."

"The roof is reinforced, but not to the same extent as the rest of the structure. Artemis has been meaning to remedy his mistake, but what with his many absences, has not had the time."

It was Myles who had spoken. Everyone turned to stare at him in disbelief, even Beckett.

"How do you know that?" asked Artemis Sr. eventually.

Myles shrugged. "He told me."

"And… and you understood him?" The Fowl Patriarch didn't look as though he could believe the four-year old's words.

There was another wave of noise above them, with more loud footsteps and a few crashes. It was followed by another few moments of silence during which everyone in the lab held their breath, then the sound of something large and heavy being dropped above the centre of the lab, right above Artemis Sr.'s head.

Artemis Sr. looked at his wife, then upwards. "I think," he said quietly. "We should move."

Angeline nodded, immediately gathering up Myles and Beckett in her arms and carrying them to a sheltered corner. Her husband followed her a moment later, and together they crouched there, peering over Artemis Jr.'s lab equipment with their hearts in their throats. Even Holly fell silent, as though holding her breath, waiting.

Time passed, the seconds stretching into minutes. The activity above them continued for a while, but then it petered out. After about a minute of silence, Artemis Sr. exhaled loudly and wiped his brow.

"I guess there was nothing to worry-"

He never got to finish the sentence. At that moment, an explosion tore a huge rent in the ceiling, raining debris down into the lab below and filling it with billowing grey smoke. The lights flickered off. Through the smoke and wreckage, silhouettes were visible dropping down into the lab from the floor above.

Artemis Sr. counted at least five figures before the smoke became too thick too see through. Trying to contain the fear clawing at his insides, he wracked his brain, trying desperately to come up with some kind of plan.

 _There was a gun,_ he thought. _I'm sure there was…_

He looked around frantically, eyes scanning every surface he could see for the weapon he had spotted earlier. There! On a table, only a few metres away, lay the Five-seveN that Holly had left Artemis. It almost seemed to be taunting him, lying there, so close, yet almost completely inaccessible.

 _If I could just reach it… it's so close… maybe we could have a chance…_

He raised his head a little higher and glanced around. He couldn't see any of the creatures that his son had brought to Fowl Manor before. If he could just dash over to the table, he was sure he could get it. It would only take a few seconds.

But then a dark shape appeared in the smoke in front of him, growing more distinct as it came forward, and he knew that it was too late. There was no hope. Artemis Jr. had left them no way out of the lab; they were well and truly trapped in here with these monsters.

The creature emerged slowly from the smoke, trudging towards the Fowls' hiding place. Only from up close could they appreciate how terrifying it actually was; only first-hand experience could really do justice to the deathly pale skin, decorated with scars, or to the sunken, lifeless eyes. The creature even smelled of death. The Fowls shrank back into the darkness, trying their best to stay quiet.

The creature came to a stop about a metre away from them. It stood utterly still, making no sound. There was no rattling breath and no beating heart, but the silence was somehow even more sinister. And then, even though it surely couldn't see them, it let out a low growl, as though it could sense them.

There was a thud as another figure dropped through the hole in ceiling, followed by a shriek from one of the other creatures. None of the Fowls dared move, but they listened carefully; there was the sound of a scuffle and then a crash as someone was thrown to the ground.

The creature that had been about to discover the them turned back to the noise, but a sword arced out of the smoke and buried itself in the creature's chest.

Artemis Sr. peeked out a little from behind the apparatus they were hiding behind; he couldn't see much, but the smoke was beginning to fade and he thought he could make out three more creatures rushing at a figure in the middle of the lab.

Even as he watched, there was a flash of steel and one of the creatures fell. The figure followed up immediately, moving impossibly fast and taking another creature's head. The last one tried to grab at the assailant before they could strike again, but they ducked under its clumsy lunge and sunk their blade into its throat.

The figure came towards the Fowls and retrieved the sword they had thrown before. Artemis Sr. peered a little further out of the shadows, trying to get a better look at their savour. The smoke had largely cleared, now; before him stood a beautiful girl, dressed all in black and clutching twin swords, both dripping with black blood.

"You can come out now," said Natalya.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, well, well. That complicates things, doesn't it? But then I suppose you never really can have a good slaughter without Natalya wanting a piece of the action. She's just that kind of girl, you know? She wants in on the party.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! There's plenty more action over the next few as well, and then much needed explanations. Like I said before, I'll try and get the next one up by Christmas. And please tell me what you thought in a review! I always love reading feedback :)

-Kio


	16. Ablaze

**A/N:** Well, since I'm uploading this on Christmas day (dedication, right?), it technically isn't up _by_ Christmas as promised, but I think it'll do. And besides, this way I get to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! If you celebrate it, that is.

Also, I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and really just the whole story. I really appreciate it :)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 16; Ablaze**

 **Artemis Fowl's Laboratory, Fowl Manor, Ireland**

"You can come out, now," said Natalya.

Gesturing for his family to stay hidden, Artemis Sr. slowly emerged from their hiding place. He tried to take in every detail of the girl standing before him; she was pretty, there was no denying that, but there was something dangerous about her beauty. Sinister, even. She didn't look older than eighteen, but she had a Kalashnikov slung over her shoulder, a pistol strapped to each thigh and a bloodied short-sword in each hand.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying not to sound too incredulous.

Natalya ignored him, bending down to wipe her swords clean on the body of a former human. Once she was done, she went over the Five-seveN that Holly had left. She picked it up and held it out to Artemis Sr., who eyed it with some distrust.

"What?" she asked coldly, her Russian accent easily discernible even in the single word. "Don't tell me your _conscience_ -" she spat the word "has robbed you of your ability to shoot, as well as every other useful skill you once possessed."

Artemis Sr. took the weapon reluctantly, now aiming his mistrustful gaze at Natalya instead.

"I asked you who you were."

Natalya gave him a look of utter contempt. "I heard you." She nodded towards the corner where the rest of the Fowls still cowered. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your family?"

"Family…?"

Natalya rolled her eyes in a way that would probably have reminded Artemis of Holly. "Yes. Family." She pointed to the corner where the other Fowls were still hiding. "Sound familiar?"

Artemis Sr. looked nervous. "Ah, yes, family. Now you mention it, that does ring a bell. Angeline, I think you should come out now. Bring the twins."

Angeline emerged slowly with Myles and Beckett, visibly afraid. She kept the twins shielded with her arms, as though that would somehow help if Natalya decided to kill them.

Natalya sighed as she watched them. "If I wanted you dead," she said. "You would be. Stop wasting my time with the whole _scared parent_ routine."

Not bothering to wait for a response, the Russian girl went off to grab the bodies of the former humans, dragging them all into the middle of the room and lining them up. Without offering any kind of explanation, she raised her Kalashnikov and fired a single round into the head of the first body in the line.

Beckett screamed. Myles and Angeline flinched back as if burned.

"What are you doing?" exclaimed Artemis Sr., rushing forwards and making to snatch the rifle from her hands. "You're scaring the children!"

Natalya shook him off violently, throwing him to the ground. "If you're not thorough," she spat. "They get back up and tear your throat out. Is that what you want?"

She shook her head contemptuously and went back to what she was doing, working her way up the line until every former had a bullet in its skull.

Artemis Sr. pulled himself slowly to his feet, struggling to find his voice. "They… they _what_?" he managed. "How is that even possible?"

Natalya shrugged. "Ask your son. The _genius_."

Artemis Sr. swallowed, obviously shaken by the revelation that the formers could sometimes survive apparently fatal wounds.

"I'm sorry… I didn't realise they could do that…"

Natalya rounded on him. "No, of course you didn't. You know nothing about them. But that didn't stop you, did it?" She spat on the ground. "The world is full of stupid, arrogant men like you who act without a second thought for what the consequences might be. I suppose the possibility that _perhaps_ someone else might know better than you just never crossed you mind?"

"Well… I don't think you're being fair…" spluttered Artemis Sr.

Natalya took a step towards him, smiling dangerously. "I don't _care_ what you think. Next time you get in my way, I will hurt you. Clear?"

The Fowl patriarch looked for a moment as if he was going to argue, but then he glanced back at his family and seemed to think better of it. He gave a subdued nod.

"Well done," muttered Natalya scathingly. "You're cleverer than you look. I suppose that's something."

"Excuse me," interjected Angeline, her voice quavering a little. "Miss…?"

Natalya barely spared her a glance. "Fine. If you have to call me something, you may as well call me Natalya."

"Well then… _Natalya_ ," continued Angeline, trying to keep her voice even. "Why did you help us?"

The Russian girl gave her a longer look this time, contemplating how to answer.

"Let's just say I was passing by," she said eventually. "Hard as I'm sure that is to believe. I am an opportunist; on my way, I saw an opportunity."

Angeline shrank back. "What opportunity?"

"I decided that keeping you alive would be more beneficial to me than allowing you to die. Slightly." She let the last word hang in the air like a threat. "Her on the other hand," she added, nodding towards Holly's unconscious form. "She is a very useful person to have in my debt. It will almost make up for all the times I nearly killed her."

* * *

Artemis and Juliet crashed through the corridors of Fowl Manor, desperately trying to outrun the mob of former humans on their tail. They weren't succeeding. Perhaps Juliet could have done it, but Artemis just wasn't quite able to match their enhanced speed. Slowly but surely, they were gaining on him.

"Artemis," called Juliet from out in front as she ducked into yet another hallway. "See the door at the end of the corridor? We're going in there."

Even though Juliet couldn't see him, Artemis shook his head as he ran. "Can't," he gasped in between breaths. "We'll be trapped."

"No choice. We're dead if we try and outrun them."

Artemis knew that he was the reason Juliet felt they needed to abandon their flight, but he didn't have the energy to argue. His entire body was screaming out for oxygen; all he wanted to do was collapse. He wished he could reassure Juliet that the formers wouldn't kill him yet, but he had already come far too close to dying at their hands tonight to still have confidence in that plan.

Naturally, Juliet was the first to reach the room. She had no idea what was inside; she had chosen it to be their stand solely because the door looked reasonably sturdy.

Unhooking yet another grenade from her belt, Juliet flung open the door and ducked inside. She pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it casually out into the swarm of formers. Artemis reached her a moment later and she dragged him inside and slammed the door shut, fumbling with an old lock

As soon as he was inside, Artemis fell to his knees, gasping for breath and massaging a stitch in his abdomen. Running was definitely not for him. Out in the corridor, there was a loud bang as Juliet's grenade exploded, taking yet another slice out of the formers' numbers.

But the respite didn't last. "Artemis!" Juliet was shouting. "Furniture."

He turned to her; she was stood upright against the door, struggling alongside the lock to contain the creatures on the other side. The sounds of former humans banging and scratching at the wood at they tried to force their way in was easily audible.

The boy took a breath and pulled himself back to his feet. He staggered over the item of furniture nearest the door – a heavy chest of draws – and placed his shoulder against the far side. He leaned into the wood, shoving with what strength he had left.

The chest of draws creaked for a moment, then started to slide obediently across the carpet. Artemis only needed to move it about a metre, but it still took him valuable seconds. Once it was half-way across the door, Juliet joined him, driving it forward until it completely covered the entrance.

Artemis immediately slid to the floor, wiping sweat of his brow. The furious banging and screaming continued on the other side of the door. In fact, he could even hear the formers beginning to assault various sections of wall as well. He didn't know how many were still out there, how many had survived the most recent grenade, but he knew they would be more than enough to overwhelm him and Juliet once they made it inside.

"I don't understand," said Juliet, lugging a pair of cabinets over to help reinforce the door. "Why are they trying to break their way in? Why don't they all just push?"

Artemis shrugged. Juliet was right – it sounded like there were more than enough formers to force the door open.

"They're stupid. It'll probably take them longer to figure that out that it will take them to beat holes in the wall."

Juliet grunted by way of a response, continuing to lug furniture across the room. Artemis stayed slumped against the original chest of draws, taking advantage of the lull in action to recover from all the physical effort he had been forced to endure. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

"Come on, Artemis. You can't fall apart now."

Artemis opened his eyes just long enough to glare at Juliet.

Juliet was unimpressed. "I'm serious, Artemis. That won't hold them forever."

"And what exactly do you expect me to do about it?"

Juliet shot him a withering look. "Big brain. Plan. You know the drill."

Artemis sighed. He did know the drill. The problem was that no plan was forthcoming. They were trapped, surrounded by insurmountable adversaries. The assault on their miniature haven continued – it wouldn't be long before the formers broke through and tore them apart.

 _Come on. Think!_ He summoned his recovered strength and stood up.

"We need to get out of this room," he said thinking aloud. He walked over the window and glanced out. They were three floors up, and he could still see formers outside; there was no way they would be able run or fight after a drop like that. He turned to Juliet. "What munitions do you have left?"

Juliet took a quick inventory. "One grenade, a spare block of C4, two mags for my rifle and my pistol ammo. Got a couple of flashbangs too, but they don't work on the formers."

Artemis frowned. It wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for. He squeezed his eyes tight shut, trying desperately to concentrate, but no miraculous escape plan occurred to him. He was starting to panic. In his darkest hour, his _big brain_ was deserting him.

Juliet seemed to sense his growing feeling of hopelessness. "Artemis," she said slowly. "I don't mean to hurry you, but…"

Suddenly, the boy's eyes flicked open and darted around the room, finally landing on a cabinet against the opposite wall to formers.

"Fire," he breathed.

"I'm sorry?"

Artemis silenced her with a wave of his hand. "No time to explain. That block of C4 – can you shape it to blow a hole into the next room without harming us?"

Juliet frowned. "Yes, but-"

"No buts. Get it done."

For a moment, Juliet considered arguing, but Artemis had that glint in his eye that generally accompanied an idea that sounded spectacularly dangerous, but would somehow end up saving their lives. She didn't argue.

Artemis, meanwhile, was already putting his plan into effect, flinging open the cupboard he'd been looking at. As one might expect from an absurdly rich, status driven family, the Fowls had numerous well-stocked drinks cabinets. One such drinks cabinet was in this very room.

Artemis raided the cabinet, grabbing as many spirits with a high alcohol content as he could. Anything below forty percent – the minimum required for it to combust at room temperature – was tossed aside. His father would probably have cried to see the aged bottles of brandy crack and their contents seep into the carpet, but there was no time to worry about that now.

Once he had an armful of expensive bottles – mostly whisky and vodka – Artemis made his way over to the wall dividing the room from the corridor outside. Cracks were already starting to appear, and a few fists had even managed to punch through, furiously reaching into the room as though they could grab him or Juliet and drag them back out into the corridor.

Juliet, having finished shaping the block of C4 and rigging it to blow, came over to him.

"What on earth are you doing?"

Artemis didn't respond, depositing his load unceremoniously on the floor. He grabbed a bottle at random and cracked the top open, spilling its liquid over their improvised barricade in front of the door. He handed Juliet a pair of bottles and instructed her to do the same before repeating the process himself.

More clammy hands broke through sections of wall. There were several holes in the door now, too. Juliet swore under her breath – they didn't have long left – but they carried on dousing everything they could with alcohol. Once the furniture barricade was soaked, they moved onto the wall itself, splashing the flammable liquid over it from a distance to avoid the formers' grabbing hands.

Thirty seconds later, the entire front of the room was covered in alcohol. Artemis and Juliet stepped back to admire their handiwork.

"I have a feeling I know what you're going to do," said Juliet. "And I really don't like it."

Artemis ignored her. "I ned a light."

"I don't have one. I don't smoke."

"D'Arvit," muttered Artemis, borrowing a word from the fairy lexicon to vent his frustration. How could he ignite the alcohol without a match or a lighter? After a few valuable seconds' thought, it came to him. "Pass me a rifle round, and a multi-tool if you have one."

Juliet almost asked why. Almost. But then she remembered how little time they had. She popped the mag out of her rifle and dropped a single shiny brass round into her hand. She handed it to Artemis, alongside her Leatherman knife.

Artemis took a breath. What he was going to attempt was extremely dangerous at the best of times, and would have been much easier with proper tools and the luxury of time. Unfortunately, since he had neither, he would have to improvise.

Without bothering to explain, he opened the Leatherman completely, exposing the pliers contained inside. Gripping the narrow end of the rifle cartridge tightly between the metal jaws, Artemis began to apply pressure, bending the exterior of the cartridge ever so slightly. Next, trying not to think about the strong possibility that he was about to lose a couple of fingers, he started twisting. After a few moments, the bullet itself came free of the cartridge, dropping onto the floor.

"Bingo," he muttered, pouring the gunpowder from the now topless cartridge onto the top of a chest of doors.

Even as he worked, the former humans were steadily widening the openings they had managed to create in the wall. In one place, a former had even managed to clamber half-way through before getting stuck and was now wriggling furiously, growling and trying desperately to reach out and snag a victim.

Juliet slotted the magazine back into her rifle and sunk two rounds into its head, but it was immediately hauled out of the way by another former to clear space for the others to take advantage of the hole it had created.

"Whatever you're going to do, Artemis," she called. "Do it fast."

 _Almost there,_ thought Artemis. When he and Juliet had been pouring the alcohol everywhere, he had carefully kept one bottle back. He scrambled over to it now, grabbing it and glancing at the label.

 _Devil Springs Vodka. 80% alcohol._ He smiled grimly. _Perfect._

Artemis tore a thin strip of fabric from his shirt and broke the seal on the bottle. He clumsily doused the rag in vodka and hung it in the neck of the bottle, then poured a little onto the pile of gunpowder.

"Artemis…" warned Juliet, squeezing off another burst and bringing down the next former trying to force its way in.

 _Come on,_ thought the boy, holding the end of the alcohol sodden rag above the puddle of vodka and gunpowder. _Come on…_

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, the gunpowder flared up into a bright flame, instantly igniting the rag.

"Stand back," he called to Juliet. Yet another former was trying to clamber through the opening in the wall. Artemis hurled the improvised Molotov cocktail straight at it, and for once, his aim was true.

The bottle connected with its torso, shattering instantly and covering it with burning alcohol. Brilliant blue flames leapt onto the wall and the furniture, dancing across the layer of alcohol that Artemis and Juliet had left there, quickly engulfing the entire front of the room in fire.

The former that had been hit directly staggered back out of the hole into several of its comrades, shrieking and swiping at the air, as though it could swat the oxygen away from the hated flames. The other formers staggered away from it, horrified by the fire.

After thrashing about for a while, the burning creature collapsed into a tapestry of the Fowl family tree, its energy spent. It didn't take long for the flames to spread to the ancient cloth. They rippled up the lines of ancestry and began jumping to anything else flammable they could reach. In minutes, the whole corridor would be ablaze.

Still trapped inside the room, Artemis and Juliet surveyed their handiwork. Even from the other side of the room, the heat was deeply unpleasant.

"Well," said Juliet. "I think you got rid of the formers."

Artemis nodded shakily. In front of him, the fire pulsed like a living, breathing animal. It was no longer an alcohol fire – the flammable vapours had long since burnt out. Now, it fed on the house itself. It was quickly consuming the fuel immediately available to it, and was already starting to spread towards them. Thick smoke swirled around their heads.

Artemis coughed. "I think we should probably go," he spluttered.

Juliet gave him a wry smile. "Funnily enough, I think you're right." She dug a remote out of her pocket and flicked the switch, detonating the block of C4 Artemis had told her to place earlier. A huge hole instantly appeared in one of the other walls, accompanied by an ear-splitting bang.

"Let's not wait around," she said, grabbing Artemis by the forearm and leading him through the improvised exit. They found themselves in a similar room to the one they had just left, but thankfully, it was a lot less on fire.

Artemis took a lungful of smoke free air. He smiled. "That's better."

"Come on, Artemis, we're not out of the woods yet."

The boy composed himself. Juliet was right; they weren't clear yet. And if they didn't get clear quickly, they probably never would be.

Juliet pulled open the door into the corridor and immediately inhaled a lung full of smoke. Doubling up and coughing, she backed up.

"Plenty of smoke," she said helpfully. "But no sign of the formers. Guess they headed off."

"Perhaps. Although I'd be surprised if they gave up that easily, fire or no fire. They might be waiting for us."

Juliet shrugged. They both knew they would die of smoke inhalation if they stayed put. Their only option was to head away from the fire, even if that might mean running straight into a group of former humans.

"Stay low," instructed Juliet. "And stick close to me. Anything gets in the way, I'll deal with it. Just focus on getting clear, alright?"

Artemis nodded, pulling off his jacket and using one hand to hold part of it over his nose and mouth to shield them from the smoke. He clutched the Glock in his other hand. Just in case.

Juliet slung her rifle over shoulder and drew her pistol. She would be much more mobile with it, she reasoned, and it would be far easier to shoot while running.

She took a breath. "Let's go."

With Artemis at her heels, she darted out into the smoke, bent low, weapon up.

* * *

"What happened to her?" Natalya nodded towards Holly's sleeping form as she spoke.

The Fowls all turned to look at the elf. As they watched, a wave of tremors wracked her body. She coughed a few times, then moaned in pain before convulsing again. A pair of blue sparks appeared on her neck, but they both disappeared almost immediately.

"I don't know," said Angeline eventually. Her voice was quiet, as though she was afraid of disturbing the elf. "Artemis said… he said she was ill. That she was dying. He said he tried to save her but he didn't think it was going to work."

Natalya's expression shifted a little. An emotion danced behind her eyes for a moment, but it was gone before Angeline could decide exactly what it was.

"Curious," murmured the Russian girl. After a moment's consideration, she reached out a hand and gently touched Holly's cheek. As soon as she made contact, she felt the battle raging inside the elf's body. The desolation called to her, reaching out through her magic.

She felt the parasite scream as it was ripped from its host. She felt Holly's body crying out for reprieve as the toxins tore it apart. She felt the last echoes of the elf's magic fighting to repair the damage before fading away, leaving her completely defenceless. She felt the profound emptiness as Holly's life slipped away.

Natalya withdrew her hand sharply, as though burned. She stared at Holly, breathing deeply. The mask of indifference she always wore was gone.

"She was infected," she whispered. "She's turning into one of those creatures. You're right, Artemis tried to save her. I don't know what he did, but whatever it is, it's going to kill her."

There was a shocked silence. Nobody, it seemed, knew what to say.

Natalya sighed. "I'm going to regret this," she muttered. She reached out both hands and placed one on each of Holly's cheeks, cradling the elf's childlike head in her hands. She closed her eyes, calling her magic.

"Heal," she breathed. Magical sparks spiralled along her arms, sinking into Holly's skin. These sparks weren't the mild blue that Holly's had been; they were a rich, midnight blue, so deep it was almost black. Dark magic. Holly retched and thrashed as they entered her body. Only the handcuffs kept her from twisting out of Natalya's grip.

They stayed like that, human clutching elf, for several seconds, and then it was over. Natalya released Holly's head and the elf slumped back, still once again. Holly breathed more deeply than usual for a few moments, but then she relaxed, falling into a more fitful sleep. She looked almost peaceful.

Natalya straightened up. She looked at Angeline. "Make sure your son knows he owes me one. Actually, forget that. He owes me _several_."

Angeline gave a shaky nod, trying to work out exactly what she thought of Natalya. "I'll tell him."

There was a clatter of movement above them. Natalya narrowed her eyes. "You lot. I would go back to hiding if I were you. I think we're about to have some more company."

Angeline began to usher the twins back into the shadows, but Artemis Sr. stood his ground, hefting the pistol Natalya had given him.

"I can shoot," he said. "It's my duty to do my part in protecting my family."

Natalya squared up to him. "I just saved your life. It would be extremely inconsiderate if you were to throw it away now based on some misplaced notion of nobility. It would render my previous efforts to keep you alive completely meaningless. And I do _not_ appreciate having my time wasted. So be a good boy and get out of my way."

She turned her back on him without waiting for a response, focusing her attention on the hole in the roof through which she knew any threat would come. There were more sounds above them now; the clatter of footsteps was joined by shrieks and growls. The former humans sounded like they were excited.

Natalya smiled to herself. _I suppose that means they don't realise I'm here. That should be a nasty surprise._

She retrieved her Kalashnikov and slotted in a fresh magazine. She knew she wouldn't get the chance to reload once the formers started dropping in, so she would have to make good use of the thirty rounds she had before they ran out. She raised the rifle to her shoulder and got comfortable. The movements were automatic. It was all second nature to her after all these years.

She didn't have to wait long for a target to present itself. A head appeared in the opening as a former human peered down into the room below. Natalya fired a single round, leaving a neat hole between the former's sunken eyes. It hung there comically for a few seconds, staring unblinkingly at Natalya. Nothing moved, aside from the odd droplet of black blood dripping down onto the floor below with a pitter-patter sound that was eerily amplified in the sudden silence.

Then the creature slipped, falling through the hole and landing on the floor of the laboratory with a loud crash. The spell was broken. There was a chorus of snarls from above them, and then a former human dropped down into the lab, baring its teeth.

Natalya picked it out of the air as it fell with a clean headshot. It was dead before it hit the ground. Another one followed and immediately met the same fate. There were a few seconds of respite, and then the rest of the former humans decided to come and tear apart whomever was killing their comrades.

Natalya smiled grimly. _Twenty-seven rounds left. Come and have a go, freaks._

She dropped two of them before their feet even touched the floor and followed up with another pair of headshots on formers that were already running towards her, snapping between targets with perfect accuracy. She tapped the trigger three more times. Three more kills.

But despite her best efforts, more and more of the creatures were dropping through the opening, forming a steady stream of former humans rushing towards her. She couldn't afford to conserve ammunition anymore; she would be torn apart if she carried on going for one-shot kills.

Widening her stance for additional stability, Natalya switched to fully automatic. She burned through the remainder of the magazine in seconds, fighting to control the Kalashnikov's recoil. It wasn't her best, but all things considered, the spread wasn't bad. Most of the rounds connected, leaving the majority of the former humans that had managed to make it down into the lab either dead or wounded.

She didn't stop to celebrate. Another wave of formers was already dropping down from the floor above, shrieking in rage as they saw the bodies of their brothers and sisters strewn over the lab. Knowing that the formers would rip her throat out before she managed to slot in another magazine, Natalya tossed aside the now empty rifle, reaching down and drawing the two pistols strapped to her thighs.

The fresh wave of former humans was rapidly approaching her, snarling as they came, their yellow eyes glowing brightly with excitement. In their haste to reach her, they didn't bother spreading out, instead just charging at her from one direction.

Natalya stood her ground. She waited until the first former was only about a metre away from her before raising the twin pistols and firing. At such short range, the two Teflon coated bullets simply eviscerated the former human's head, leaving little more than fine black mist behind.

 _This is too easy,_ Natalya smirked to herself. She continued firing, pumping both triggers as fast as she could until both weapons clicked uselessly. She didn't bother mourning her lack of ammunition, instead dropping both guns and reaching behind her.

A former human was unfortunate enough to leap at her as she moved, hands outstretched ready to claw at her face. There was a flash of steel and the former fell to the ground, its head no longer attached to its body. Natalya grinned, a sword in one hand and a fireball in the other. It had been far too long since she had allowed herself to use magic freely in a fight.

"Think you can take me?"

The formers were all around her now, but they hesitated for a split second, wary of the flames in her palm, allowing her to take the fight to them. As if she needed another advantage.

Natalya launched the fireball, engulfing a former in vivid orange flames. The other formers nearby staggered away and she leapt forward, her sword flashing. Two heads rolled to the ground. A former tried to grab at her, but she was too fast, lashing out with a vicious kick that sent it crashing to the ground.

Two more former humans snarled their displeasure and launched themselves at her. The first one came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, Natalya's sword embedded in its chest. The other she caught mid-leap, wrapping her fingers around its throat. She poured magic down her arm into her hand, strengthening her grip until it was like iron, and squeezed. The former human's windpipe tore like rice paper.

She tossed the lifeless figure aside and summoned more fire into her palm. She reached out with her magic, focusing on the flames, growing them and forming them into a sphere. A former human made the mistake of trying to interrupt her. She cut it in half with a single swipe of her sword.

Once it was ready, Natalya hurled the fireball at an approaching former and watched as the tongues of flame blossomed from the impact, leaping to nearby formers, setting them alight as well. They stumbled backwards, swatting at the fire as it burned them, howling.

She couldn't help it. She laughed. This was _fun_.

* * *

Most of the former humans had fled from the rising flames, but there were still a few stragglers waiting for their prey to emerge from the inferno. Artemis and Juliet didn't disappoint.

Juliet spat a curse as she noticed one of the creatures prowling in the corridor, its yellow eyes shining through the smoke. The former noticed her and made to attack, but she fired off a quick three rounds in its general direction. The figure stumbled back and was swallowed up by the smoke.

Another figure darted out in front of Artemis and Juliet, but Juliet shoved it roughly away without slowing down. She didn't fancy their chances if they were forced to stop and fight.

There was movement directly ahead of them. Multiple sets of yellow eyes hovering in the smoke. Juliet made a sudden change of direction, taking a right onto another corridor and grabbing Artemis, dragging him along with her. She could hear a former stumbling behind them, but she spun and lashed out with her foot, catching the former in the chest and sending it flying back into the smoke.

Then, like flicking a switch, the air was clear. They were free of the smoke. Artemis staggered to his knees, gulping lungfuls of oxygen, but Juliet knew they didn't have time to take advantage of the lull in the action. She spun, weapon up, ready for any formers pursuing them.

It wasn't anywhere near as bad as she had thought it would be. Only four of the creatures came for them, and they stumbled uncertainly out of the smoke. Some of them were burned. Juliet squeezed off three double taps, then dispatched the last former by burying a knife in its skull. She threw its body back into the smoke, which continued to billow towards them.

"Good riddance." She turned to Artemis, smiling a little. "Well, we're alive. Somehow. What now?"

"I don't think Opal's time field will hold up much longer. She'll probably want to be gone before it collapses. You know, if we can just hold them off a little longer, we might just make it."

Juliet nodded. "Come on, we should keep moving."

She started walking away from the fire they had started, and Artemis fell in behind her. She wasn't sure where they were heading, but she wanted to put some distance between themselves and the smoke-filled corridors surrounding the fire.

They walked in silence for a short while, but Juliet had a question she had wanted to ask all night, and she didn't think she could resist asking it any longer.

"Artemis," she began. "I wanted to ask… about Holly." Immediately the boy's expression darkened, but Juliet ploughed on. "You said you would fix her."

Artemis's voice was cold. "You're right. I did."

"And did you?"

Artemis stopped walking, unsure what to say. He opened his mouth to speak, but there was a flash of movement in his peripheral vision and then there were former humans leaping out of the shadows. In a heartbeat, they were surrounded.

"Ambush!" yelled Juliet, weapon already up and firing, but she only managed to take down two of the formers they were on her, slapping the gun out of her hand and tackling her to the ground.

Artemis watched in horror as she fought, desperately trying to break free of their hold. Then, all of a sudden, there was a knife in her hand and she was slashing furiously at the former humans, killing two and wounding a third.

Artemis didn't see what happened next. A former human was coming for him as well, stalking down the corridor towards him. It growled menacingly. Artemis brought the Glock around and fired a single shot. More by luck than anything else, it caught the former in the shoulder and sent it stumbling back.

Without stopping to dwell on it, Artemis turned back to Juliet. She was back on her feet, but she looked unsteady, and there was blood on her face and hands. having lost both her pistol and her rifle in the struggle, she clutched a knife in one hand, her expression grim. Black blood dripped from the blade. Seven former humans had her completely surrounded and were slowly circling her, waiting to strike.

"Juliet!"

Her eyes flicked to him. "Artemis. Run. Get away from here. Find Domovoi."

"I can't-"

"Now!"

Artemis raised the Glock, intent on trying to help her, but he knew he couldn't shoot. Even if he hadn't been such a poor shot, he would have had difficulty making sure he didn't hit Juliet. He couldn't just leave her, though. He looked around him, desperately searching for something that he could use to help her.

Nothing came to mind.

The former humans attacked as one, leaping towards Juliet, hands outstretched, trying to grab her. Trying to drag her down. Juliet darted forward, trying to find a gap to slip through, but one of the creatures mirrored her movements, cutting her off. Her knife flashed, slashing its throat, but then the others were on her. Hands grasped at every bit of her body, dragging her back into the group of formers.

Juliet twisted, grabbing a former and flipping it over her hip. Two formers held one of her arms, but her knife arm was still free, so she brought the blade back round, embedding it the hand of one of the formers holding her. She lashed out with her foot, connecting with a former's knee. The former collapsed but didn't relinquish her. She went to try again, but another former grabbed her leg before she could kick out, tugging it out from beneath her.

Juliet staggered, struggling to maintain her balance. She ripped the knife free and swung it wildly, catching a former in the face, but they were all over her now. She tried to move, tried to make space to fight, but the formers were all around her, pressing in from all sides. Sharp finger nails raked across her face, drawing blood. She felt teeth sinking into her shoulder and she cried out.

She tried to stay upright, but she could feel herself being pulled down to the ground. She carried on struggling, her hand forcing its way past the sea of limbs on teeth to her belt; she'd lost the knife, but that didn't matter now.

Not much of anything mattered now.

She couldn't see what she was doing and she was being constantly dragged back and forth by the former humans, so it took a moment for her fingers to brush against what she was looking for. She wrapped her fingers around it and gave a sharp tug.

She couldn't see if Artemis was still there – she couldn't see much of anything – but knowing him, he would have stuck around to see if he could help. But he couldn't, not any more. He had to go.

"Artemis! You have to run!"

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she could have sworn she heard footsteps heading away from her. Artemis running, maybe. She smiled softly, and opened her hand. The pin from her final grenade fell to the floor, the soft clatter lost in sounds of the struggle above.

 _Good luck, Artemis,_ thought Juliet

Then the grenade exploded, and Juliet Butler stopped thinking anything at all.

* * *

 **A/N:** How's that for a Christmas present? *does Artemis's vampire smile*

MUAHAAHAHAHA. Review! Call me evil!

Ahem. I may have got a little carried away there. Sorry. In all seriousness, I like Juliet a lot, and I'm sorry do this to her. But there is a reason. You'll see at the end of the story. Also, yes, I may be somewhat destroying Fowl Manor here, so sorry about that too. Although, kudos to anyone that spotted that Artemis joked about setting fire to it in the last chapter, then ended up actually doing it. And as always, I would love to hear your thoughts.

-Kio


	17. Purge

**A/N:** Turns out I'm not dead, and will continue updating this. This is the conclusion of the battle for Fowl Manor.

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 17; Purge**

 **Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Artemis stumbled through Fowl Manor's abandoned corridors, his mind numb. He didn't know if he was being followed. He didn't know if he was heading straight into another group of former humans. He found that he didn't care.

Juliet was gone. There would be no miracles, no last-minute rescue. Even magic couldn't stitch her back together now. In a heartbeat, she was gone. Snatched away by Opal Koboi's spite.

She had always been like a sister to him. And she had died like a sister to him, giving her life to try and buy him time. Throwing away any slim chance she might have had of survival to give him the chance to live instead.

 _And now she's gone._

He had to keep repeating it in his head, keep refreshing the grief. The pain. The pain was good; it helped him focus. It helped him stop from sinking to his knees and giving up.

He understood now, of course. Understood that this had been inevitable. There had been too many enemies, there had never been a chance to beat them. They would die one by one, outmatched by sheer numbers, and he would have to see it. See everyone he cared about die.

This was what Opal had planned; they would start to believe that maybe there was hope, only to have it snatched away at the last moment, leaving Artemis only with the emptiness that was filling him now. The awful hopeless grief that Opal had felt when she saw her future self's dead body was being passed on to him.

Artemis staggered on, expecting at any moment to run straight into more formers that would rip off his arms and gouge out his eyes and tear out his throat. But the corridors remained mercifully empty. He knew what he had to do. There was a very real possibility it would kill everyone in Fowl Manor, but it was the only way to beat the formers.

He made his way down one flight of stairs, then another. Still he didn't encounter any former humans. He passed the main kitchen and glanced in. There were bodies everywhere. Severed limbs and black blood.

At first, he assumed that Butler must have passed through here, but then he looked closer at the carnage. The bodies were slashed and torn and mutilated. There was such savagery visible even in the aftermath that it was scary. There was no precision; no method. Just violence. It looked like someone, or something, had been enjoying themselves. This wasn't Butler's work. And that meant that there was yet another thing that he had to worry about, another threat trapped in Fowl Manor with them.

He tried not to think too much about it. He supposed that, in the end, it didn't really change anything. And whatever had killed those formers had probably done him a favour anyway.

Besides, worrying about a new threat wouldn't bring back Juliet.

Another stab of grief cut into him, slicing deep. He didn't try and stop it. Didn't try and quell it. He just stood there for a few moments in the doorway, letting it twist and wrench inside him until he couldn't feel anything else.

He entered the kitchen, not bothering to avoid the gore that was strewn about the place. He grabbed a discarded chair and hefted it, feeling the weight. It was heavy, but manageable. That was good. It would serve his needs.

He left through the same door he had come in through, heading towards his original destination, not noticing the footprints of black blood he was now leaving after him.

It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for. To anyone else, it would have just been another section of wall. But Artemis knew better. He knew what was behind it. He raised the chair high above his head and slammed it into the wall. It splintered, but largely held, so he hit it again. And again.

On the third swing, the plaster caved in, revealing the pipes and valves behind it. Artemis's eyes scanned the network of pipes, quickly locating the gas main. The hefted the chair one final time and swung it, putting his whole weight into the swing. He careered forward, sending the chair crashing through the pipe. Gas immediately started spilling out into the air.

Holding his breath, Artemis backed away. He didn't need to light it himself, of course. It would rush to fill the corridors, and would quickly reach the rapidly spreading fire that he and Juliet had set.

Juliet. No sooner had he thought the name than he overcome once again, but this time there was a spark inside him. The grief ignited, filling him with fire. Juliet's brother was still here in Fowl Manor. Still alive. Presumably. He couldn't allow him to die. Couldn't allow both Butler's to throw away their lives for him.

He fumbled with the communicator his manservant had given him. "Butler? Are you there? Can you hear me?"

Several seconds of terrifying silence. Then a voice, barely audible over the sound of gunfire.

"Artemis! Is that you?"

Relief flooded through Artemis. "Yes, old friend. It's me. I need you to do something."

Butler didn't respond immediately. Artemis thought he could hear the frenzied scream of a former human, made indistinct by distance from the communicator, then a loud burst of gunfire.

"I'm pinned down. Those things are everywhere. I'm not sure I can help, I'm afraid."

"I need you to get out of the house, Butler." He ran a few mental calculations. "Give it, maybe, three minutes, and get out of the house."

It was a rough estimate. Very rough. But with so many variables that he couldn't know, it was impossible to be any more precise. It could be two minutes, it could be ten. He didn't know. All he could say was that it would probably be at least three minutes before they were all engulfed by fire.

The boy could almost hear the frown in Butler's voice. "I'm on the third floor, Artemis, and I'm pretty sure I'm surrounded. That's not going to happen."

"Find a way."

"I'm sorry, Artemis, I really don't think I can. Listen, is Juliet still with you? I tried contacting her a few minutes ago, but I couldn't get through."

Artemis's earlier relief was instantly replaced by guilt. He didn't say anything. What could he say? Not the truth, that much was certain. It would only cloud Butler's judgement, and in the middle of a fight for his life, that wasn't something he could afford. The truth would probably get him killed, and that was not acceptable. He had to live. He had to, because above all else, that's what Juliet would have wanted.

"Just get out, Domovoi. Trust me. Please."

It was all he could say. He dropped the communicator, not waiting to hear what Butler had to say. It was all he could do not to fall to his knees. Without looking back at the communicator, he set off for his lab. He was probably going to run into a whole bunch of former humans. He was probably going to die. But that didn't matter. He had to try and get his family to safety. And Holly.

It wasn't particularly far to go. Even so, every time he turned a corner, he fully expected his next step to be his last. But it wasn't to be; the journey was passed in eerie silence. Nothing jumped out at him. Nothing tried to kill him.

He came to the heavy door to his lab. The reinforced steel was scratched where the former humans had tried desperately to gain entry, but remained tight shut.

 _Still alive, then,_ thought Artemis, relieved.

He glanced over his shoulder, making sure the coast was clear. He took a breath and raised a hand to the keypad set into the frame, quickly entering a sixteen-digit code and allowing both his eyes and his finger prints to be scanned. A dialogue box reading _lockdown aborted_ flashed up on the tiny screen.

Artemis didn't hesitate. He tapped a button and immediately the heavy steel door started to swing forward, and he stepped forward into the lab.

"Mother? Fath-"

The words died in his throat as he caught sight of the lab's interior. The bodies of former humans and their dismembered body parts littered the floor, savaged almost beyond recognition. Some had been cut to pieces, some had been burned, some had been simply torn apart, but they all had one thing in common: none of them were moving any more.

In the middle of it all, stood Natalya, covered in black blood. She was smiling. She saw him and raised a playful eyebrow.

"Hey, Arty."

Artemis didn't try to speak. He just stared. In his mind, he was too shocked to speak. But nevertheless, he found that his mouth was moving, a quiet fury behind his words.

"What have you done?"

Natalya lost her smile. "You're no fun," she pouted. But then she saw looked closer and saw the rage in Artemis's eyes. The hatred. She sighed. "If it's your family you're worried about, I can assure you that they are all unharmed. Not a scratch on them, thanks to me."

As if to demonstrate her point, Artemis Sr. appeared beside her, stepping awkwardly between the dead bodies.

Artemis Jr. tried to speak but all that came out was a strangled whisper. He tried again. "Father?"

The Fowl patriarch nodded.

"Where is Mother? And the twins?"

His father smiled reassuringly. "They're fine. Your mother is back there shielding the twins from… _this_."

He gestured around him at the sea of mutilated corpses, but he needn't have. His son knew at once what he had been referring to. Neither of them were squeamish, but even so, there was a part of both of them that wanted to throw up at the sight of the scene that Natalya had left. It wasn't a view to which you wanted to expose a four-year-old.

Artemis Jr. sucked in a large breath. He took all his negative feelings towards Natalya and shoved them to one side, compartmentalising them. He could deal with all of that later; right now, they had to get out of the manor. That was all that mattered.

"We need to leave here. Immediately. Have Mother bring the twins."

Natalya frowned. "Why?"

Artemis pointed a shaking finger at her. "You," he snarled, his expression daring her to argue. "You don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything."

Natalya narrowed her eyes, and looked for a moment like she was going to say something, but then she shrugged, biting her tongue. Artemis strode past her into the lab. He offered his mother what he hoped was a reassuring smile when he caught sight of her, and then went straight over to Holly. He clicked open the handcuffs restraining her and picked her up, cradling her tiny frame in his arms. She was still now, resting peacefully.

He nodded to Angeline. "Come on. We need to go."

The Fowl family left the lab together, Artemis carrying Holly, Angeline doing her best to stop the twins from seeing the carnage they were walking through. Natalya walked a short distance away, eyes open for an attack, trying to figure out how best to play her cards with Artemis.

As they walked, she sniffed at the air. The smell of gas was faint here, but it was definitely there. She glanced at Artemis, understanding instantly what he'd done. She didn't bother wondering what he had set up to light it. It didn't matter. She added a little extra length to her strides.

"Where are we going?" asked Artemis Sr.

"Out of the house," answered his son. "As quickly as possible. Come on, hurry."

With him carrying Holly and his mother struggling with the twins, they weren't moving nearly as fast as he would have liked. According to his mental count, the three minutes he had given Butler were about to run out. And they weren't even out of the house yet.

 _We're living on borrowed time,_ he thought. Seconds ticked by, but then they reached what was left of the entrance hall.

Despite the gravity of the situation, both Fowl parents found themselves grinding to a halt.

"What…" spluttered Angeline. "What happened?"

Artemis opened his mouth to say _Juliet happened_ , but then he remembered what had happened to her, and the words caught in his throat.

"Not now," he said. He pointed the gaping hole where doorway used to be. It looked like the formers had cleared most of the wreckage, leaving them with safe passage to the grounds. "Outside. Get as far as away from the house as you can."

A flash of movement ahead. Artemis froze. Formers were emerging all over the hall. Then Natalya was between him and them, her back to him, both swords already drawn.

"Go," she ordered. "I'll deal with these freaks."

The rest of the Fowls were already heading to the exit. Artemis hesitated. He wanted nothing more than to join his family and run the hell away from all the pain and the violence, but he reckoned he could see a good twenty formers coming towards him and Natalya. It had taken half that number to bring down Juliet. Even after everything, there was some part of him, something deep inside, possibly cultivated by Holly, that didn't want Natalya to give her life for him as well. Perhaps it was the same something that had made Holly heal Butler all those years ago, in this same hall, even though she had had no reason to help him.

"You can't," he said eventually. "They'll kill you."

Natalya shrugged but didn't turn to look at him. "I like my chances."

Artemis looked at her for a long moment, then shook his head and turned to go. He hurried after his family, Holly's sleeping form light in his arms. He heard Natalya deal with the first formers to reach her. It sounded violent. He didn't glance back, continuing away from the incoming explosion, keeping his mother and father in sight.

* * *

Butler was out of bullets. This would probably have worried him more if he'd still had his assault rifle, but he'd had it ripped from his hands in a scrap with a former human a few minutes ago. Still, it would've been nice to have a few rounds left in his pistol. As it was, he was down it to fists and knives. Up close and personal, just the way he didn't like it.

He kept running. He wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish; all he knew was that he had been forced back into the corner of the manor, and every time he took another turn, there were more formers blocking him off. It seemed like what he'd told Artemis was true: he was surrounded.

A former human leapt out in front of him. Butler ducked low under its clumsy swipe and crashed into it, lifting it off its feet. He tossed it into a wall and sunk a heavy fist into its cheek. Bone gave way. The former slid to the floor and didn't get up. Butler carried on moving, barely breaking his stride.

He blinked and there was a group of formers blocking his path. Moving without thinking, he took a quick right, ducking into a corridor he'd never seen before. There was a former ahead. Butler's knife was lodged in its skull before it had even turned to face him, and already the manservant was running again.

He glanced at his watch. Already more than three minutes since Artemis had told him to get out of the house. He ran into the first room he came to and went to the window, looked out. It was a long way down. He heard movement behind and he turned, his fist slamming into a former and lifting it into air.

His brain took a moment to catalogue his situation; the former he had just knocked down was already getting back to its feet, and it was one of three. He stepped forward, bringing the fight to the other two before they could do the same to him.

The bodyguard dodged past the first former's attack, darting towards its comrade. Despite his age, Butler was still lightning fast, and in one fluid movement he stomped on the creature's knee and followed up with a vicious elbow to the jaw. There were two satisfying cracks as the former human's bones broke. It went down.

Butler spun to face the first former, but it was too quick, slamming a fist into his jaw. He cursed and took an involuntary step back as the pain hit, and the former made to press its advantage. Butler feinted low and went high, catching the creature off-guard with a chop to its windpipe.

Of course, the former humans didn't need to breathe, and so unlike a real person, the creature didn't crumple, unconscious. It just stumbled back, looking strangely offended, while the last former struck Butler from behind. The manservant staggered. He reached out for the former he'd hit in the throat, grabbing it and swinging back around into the other former. Both creatures went tumbling backwards, landing in a heap of tangled limbs.

Butler looked up, ready to start running again, hoping he might find an unoccupied corridor that he could slip through and escape the former humans that seemed to have him surrounded. But they were already filing into the room, growling and shrieking as they came. Five, ten, still more in the background. Too many to fight.

The bodyguard took a calming breath. He glanced at his watch. Artemis must have had had a reason to want him to get out of the house, and he had already passed the deadline.

 _Here goes,_ he thought, turning away from the oncoming formers and breaking into a sprint. A jumped at the last minute, tilting slightly so his shoulder was the first thing to make contact, and slammed straight into the window. The glass shattered and then he was hurtling through the air, the ground rushing up to meet him. It really was approaching very fast. He braced for impact, wrapping his arms over his head and extending his legs to act as a sort of rudimentary crumple zone. Then he hit the ground and every bone in his legs instantly shattered.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Butler shifted so he could see the house. Every movement sent white hot daggers of pain into his brain. His vision was blurring and already he could feel consciousness start to slip away from him, but he could just about make out hazy shapes moving behind the windows. They were getting bigger.

 _Former humans_ , he realised miserably. _Coming to finish me off._

Then there came a sound. The sound of thunder. Flames surged through the manor, filling entire rooms and turning their contents to ash, shattering the windows and bursting out into the night. They swept through the corridors, destroying everything in their path, cleansing the manor of its infestation. In a heartbeat, Fowl Manor went from an extravagantly furnished home to a burnt-out husk, barely still standing.

Butler smiled as unconsciousness claimed him. _Good old master Artemis,_ he thought. _Always one step ahead. I just hope he and Juliet got out in time._

* * *

Natalya emerged from Fowl Manor only a few seconds before explosion. She ran hard, a couple of formers on her tail, only just clearing the kill zone. If not for her extraordinary speed, she would be dead. Even so, the explosion lifted her off her feet, adding to her momentum and depositing her in a painful heap. The creatures following her weren't so lucky; the explosion seared their flesh and ruptured their bodies.

Natalya moaned in pain. Her back was peppered with shards of glass and shrapnel and her skin was badly burned. She could feel at least a few broken bones, and worst of all, she had lost one of her swords in the fall. She liked those swords. If she couldn't find it, there was going to be blood.

She didn't want to get up. She wanted to stay lying on this patch of scorched earth forever. But now her magic was kicking in, dulling the pain, starting to repair her body, and she forced herself to her feet. She was a little unsteady at first, but then she found her balance.

There was a glint of steel in the corner of her eye. She smiled. She went to retrieve her sword, then scanned the grounds for a sign of Artemis Fowl. He wasn't hard to find. The boy was crouched by a shrivelled hedge not a hundred metres away, his family cowering alongside him.

Natalya hesitated, but only for a moment, before starting to trudge over to him. She didn't like this. Of course, she had always known there was a distinct possibility she would end up having to involve Artemis in her plans, but doing so in full view of Holly Short and his family wasn't exactly what she had had in mind. Especially now that the boy remembered her torturing him.

She shook her head. Not ideal at all. But Opal Koboi's army of dead men was a development she had not foreseen, and events were steadily spiralling out of her control. She would have to make do with what she had. Coming across Artemis's family was a lucky break; hopefully saving them and Holly would at least earn her the opportunity to make her case.

But what would she say? It was true that they shared a common enemy, but the enemy of his enemy wasn't necessarily his friend. She knew that well enough from personal experience. If she was going to convince him to work with her, she was going to have to give him a reason to trust her. And she had a horrible feeling that the only way of doing that would be to tell the truth.

* * *

Artemis watched Natalya approach with some anxiety. According to his father at least, his family owed her their lives, but the memory of what she had done to him was still raw. Some things could never be forgiven.

As she came forward, shafts of sunlight began to break through the azure dome that separated the Fowl Estate from the present. The time-field was losing its integrity. Whole patches were failing, leaving isolated blotches of morning sun floating in the sky.

Then, as he watched, the rest of the time-stop collapsed, taking with it the fear that had characterised that last few hours. Sunlight filled the estate, banishing the darkness. That was it. Seemingly the longest night of his life, and it was finally over. And somehow, amazingly, they were still alive.

 _Not all of us are_ , he reminded himself, and felt another wave of grief threaten to overwhelm him.

Artemis forced himself to stay strong. He glanced at Natalya, then looked away, turning his gaze to his ancestral home. The dawn sun covered the estate in long shadows, but still provided more than enough light to reveal the true extent of the carnage that night.

The grounds were charred and blackened and filled with ugly craters. Plants were burned away to nothing. Pockets of flame flickered and danced in the morning breeze. There were bodies everywhere. Some were recognisable as having once been human. Some weren't.

Fowl Manor still looked more or less as it always had from the outside, but through the windows, Artemis could just about make out the charred skeleton within. Smoke wafted gently out of the windows.

He heard the crunch of Natalya's footsteps as she reached him. He didn't bother turning to face her. He heard the slight intake of breath as she opened her mouth to speak, but he got there first.

"You want my help stopping Opal." It wasn't a question.

Behind him, Natalya hesitated, but then she nodded. "Yes."

Artemis pointed to a point around the side of Fowl Manor. "Butler. He fell before the explosion. He's hurt. Heal him. We'll talk when Holly wakes up."

He didn't say anything else. He just carried on gazing at what was left of his home. Natalya stared at him for a long moment, not speaking, then set off in the direction he had pointed in.

* * *

 **A/N:** Artemis and Natalya working together? Will it happen? Or will Artemis decline? Or perhaps something else will go disastrously wrong? And what will Holly have to say about it all?

Also, I have finally got around to resuming writing new content for this fic instead of just editing my dwindling supply of pre-written chapters. Which is good news because it means that while updates might be slow, they aren't going to stop altogether.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Any reviews are much appreciated.

-Kio


	18. Invictus

**A/N:** It's time to finally to answer the question of who Natalya is, and where she comes from. This was a pretty interesting chapter to write, so I hope you enjoy :)

Oh and just FYI, _Invictus_ is Latin for "Unconquered." You can decide for yourself who or what it refers to in this chapter ;)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 18; Invictus**

 **The Fowl Estate, Ireland**

The first thing Holly did when she finally came to was grimace. She felt awful. Her entire body ached, and she didn't have a single spark of magic left. Whatever Artemis had done had cost her everything she had. And there was something else, too. A malignant presence deep inside, where her magic should have been.

 _What Artemis had done…_

The memories came flooding back. What Artemis had done. She screamed. There was movement around her. Then someone was by her side.

"Holly. _Holly!_ Are you OK? What's wrong?"

The pain. Oh god, she remembered now. It was unlike anything else she had ever experienced. Every nerve in her body had been on fire. It was like acid burning her away from within.

"Holly, please talk to me. Stop screaming. Please."

There were more voices now.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Arty, what happened?"

It took some effort, but Holly stopped screaming. She sucked in quick breaths, trying to control the rising hysteria. She tasted bile in her throat. She was going to be sick.

She caught a glimpse of Artemis and his parents leaping out of the way as she turned over and threw up all over the ground. She closed her eyes and didn't move for a few moments, trying to get her breathing under control.

Artemis placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Holly?"

The elf opened her mouth to tell him that she was alright and promptly threw up again. Once she was done, she took a deep breath and turned to face him. She offered a shaky smile.

"I think," she managed. "That I'm OK now."

Artemis broke into a relieved smile. "Thank Frond."

Holly looked him in the eye. "You could have warned me it was going to be that unpleasant."

Artemis didn't hold her gaze. "It would only have made it worse. You needed to be in a relaxed state to maximise the chance of success."

Holly wasn't convinced, but she let it go. She wasn't interested in arguing with him right now. She looked around, taking in her new surroundings. They weren't familiar. She was sat on a tree stump surrounded by meadow; hills and fields stretched out around them. Myles and Beckett were sleeping soundly in the grass, and Butler lay near them. He looked unconscious.

"Where are we?" she asked. She nodded to Artemis's parents, who were waiting a respectful distance away from the two of them. "And why is your family here?"

Artemis looked sadly into the distance. "We're about a kilometre away from Fowl Manor. We didn't have anywhere else to go, so we just walked out here."

"Why? What happened?"

"Opal came for us. She dropped a time-stop on us and sent in an army of those creatures. Hundreds of them." He paused, as if deciding what to say. "Fowl Manor was destroyed."

"Oh, Artemis," said Holly. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but then she noticed something in his expression. There was something else he wasn't saying. Something bad. "What else?"

For a few seconds, Artemis was silent. "Juliet didn't make it," he said eventually, his voice quiet.

Holly found that she didn't know what to say. A strange hollowness filled her up. There was no denial, no disbelief. None of the shock that came with witnessing the death of a friend first-hand. Just instant grief.

"Does Butler know?" she asked after a few minutes.

Artemis shook his head slowly.

"Gods," she breathed.

"Indeed."

"I don't mean to sound insensitive," said Holly. "But what now? Opal's not going to give up. We need a plan."

Artemis nodded. "You're right, of course." He took a fairy communicator from his pocket and handed it to Holly. "I'll need to speak to Foaly. Can you patch this into an LEP frequency?"

"I should be able to," responded the elf, and began fiddling with the communicator.

Artemis turned away from her, his eyes scanning the area around them. Sure enough, there was a figure striding quickly towards them from the direction of Fowl Manor. Natalya on her way back. He grimaced. This wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to.

Without any of her LEP equipment, it took Holly a couple of minutes to connect to an LEP frequency. By the time she was done, Natalya had almost reached them.

"Got it," she called to Artemis. "You can call Police Plaza whenever you want."

Holly chose that moment to look up from what she was doing, and Artemis smiled his thanks. But Holly's gaze jumped immediately to something behind him. She leapt up, eyes darting around for a weapon.

"Artemis! Get down!"

The boy shook his head. "It's alright, Holly," he said, holding up his hands in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. "I need to hear what she has to say."

Holly froze. She looked from Artemis to Natalya's approaching figure, then back again. "Artemis," she said quietly. "The explanation that I'm sure you are about to give had better be _phenomenal_."

Artemis was struck by a sudden urge to take a step back, but he quelled it and stood his ground. "She saved your life," he said evenly. "And the lives of my family."

"Oh, I guess that makes us friends then," said Holly, loading as much sarcasm onto her voice as possible. "Problem solved."

Artemis sighed. "I understand that we don't have a good history with her."

"Oh, you understand that, do you? Because, somehow, I don't think you do. I think if you did, there's no way you would even _consider_ listening to anything she had to say."

Artemis's expression hardened. "You think I've forgotten what she's done?" he asked, a quiet anger to his voice. "You think I like this? I don't. But this is bigger than me, or you, or her. Opal can't control those _things_ indefinitely; if we don't put a stop to this, she's eventually going to succumb herself, and then that _sickness_ is going to consume every living thing on this Earth.

"So, put aside your petty vendetta, because _this_ isn't the Holly I need by my side. I need you at your best. I need you to be ready to do whatever is necessary to stop her. And if that means hearing Natalya out, whatever she may have done in the past, then so be it."

It took Holly a moment to realise that she had just been given an order. By Artemis. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. She eventually decided on outraged.

"Have you lost your mind?" she shouted. "She is _evil_. You can't be serious. You _cannot_ be serious!"

Artemis tilted his head slightly. "I believe you told Commander Root something similar when he suggested you work with me."

Holly opened her mouth to argue. Then closed it again. "Oh, I get it," she said after a moment, narrowing her eyes. "You want to redeem her like I redeemed you. Cute."

Artemis shook his head. "I do not believe her capable of redemption. You are right; she is evil. But my point was that despite your reservations at the time, you were willing to put your personal feelings to one side and work with me because you knew it was the right thing to do. All I ask is that you do the same thing here."

Holly held his gaze for a long moment. "Fine. But I don't know why you even think she can help us."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Artemis's mouth. "Think about Russia, Holly. What did she do?"

Holly's eyes were hard. "She murdered Opal in cold blood."

"Indeed she did," Artemis nodded. "But why?"

"Because she's a murderous little bitch."

Artemis sighed. "I'm serious, Holly. What does she gain?"

Holly frowned, trying to figure out what he was getting at. Nothing came to mind. "I don't know. Nothing, as far as I can see."

"Exactly. She went through an extraordinary amount of effort and put her own life at risk to kill someone for seemingly no reason. What does that tell you?"

Holly exhaled, finally understanding. "She has history with Opal. Bad history."

"The enemy of my enemy…"

"I know the damn saying, Artemis," interrupted Holly. "But that doesn't mean I like it."

"Neither would I expect you to. I don't like it myself. But let me at least hear what she has to say."

* * *

Natalya approached cautiously. The elf – Holly Short – was clearly agitated, and seemed to be arguing with Artemis about something. Probably about what to do with her. She didn't care enough about the specifics of what they were saying to risk eavesdropping.

Hopefully, Artemis would convince Holly to hear her out. Otherwise, she would probably have to kill the elf, which would complicate things no end. Then she'd have to try and force Artemis to help her by threatening his family, which would be a much more dangerous, much more volatile plan.

"Natalya?"

Artemis's voice. The Russian girl came forward warily, her eyes fixed on Captain Short. The elf seemed to be unarmed, which was a good sign.

"You want to stop Opal," continued Artemis. "We want to stop Opal. Some form of co-operation between us seems logical. The problem is, I don't trust you."

Natalya observed him for a few moments. The tension in the air was palpable. "Understandable."

Artemis sighed. "So, earn some trust. At least a little bit."

"How? I already saved your family's lives, and repaired what was left of your girlfriend's body after you poisoned her."

Holly shot Artemis a look. "You told her about us?" she hissed.

Artemis shook his head. "She worked it out in the Nebula Facility. She used the promise of seeing you again to trick me into trusting her to get us out."

Natalya shrugged. "I got us both out alive, didn't I? And you saw Holly again, just like I promised."

Holly turned her attention back to Natalya. "So you healed me? That explains a lot. I suppose I can thank you for the black magic festering inside me?"

"Yes, that black magic that saved your life. You're welcome."

Holly glared. "If I had my way, I would mindwipe you and dump you in a sewer somewhere. Or kill you. But _someone_ -" she flashed Artemis a dangerous look "-wants to hear what you have to say. So if I were you, I would shut up and answer our questions."

Natalya regarded her coolly. Elves were so fragile, especially without magic. So delicate. It would be so easy to reach out and break her. She wasn't even armed. But that would have been counterproductive, so instead she bit her tongue, swallowing the dozen or so scathing comebacks that sprang to mind and keeping her hands to herself.

"Very well. I will answer as honestly as I can. What do you want to know?"

Holly smiled. "Good choice. Let's start with your identity. Just who the hell are you? Is Natalya even your real name?"

Natalya was careful to keep her expression unreadable. Careful not to let any of her emotions flicker across her features.

"Want to have your horsey friend look me up? No such luck, I'm afraid."

Holly's expression hardened. "Answer the question."

Natalya sighed. She considered lying. It would probably be more believable than the truth. Just make up a random Russian surname, say she was an orphan. Of course, they wouldn't be able to find her, but that wouldn't be a surprise. Russia wasn't exactly famed for its record keeping. But, she had agreed to be honest. That was the only possible way this was going to work.

 _The truth it is_ , she thought bitterly.

"No, Natalya is not my real name. And before you ask, I don't know what my real name is. I don't remember."

Artemis and Holly looked at each other, unimpressed.

"Please don't insult my intelligence. I agreed to speak with you out of good faith since you saved my family-"

"No," growled Natalya. "You agreed because you knew it was your only option. I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth, so take it or leave it."

Artemis looked highly cynical, but decided to leave it. "Why Natalya, then?"

Natalya shrugged. "I chose it," she said. "I met a girl on the streets. I don't know where it was. She was starving. It isn't rare in Russia. She was barely alive. I knew the feeling, so I fed her. She said her name was Natalya. I liked it, and I didn't have a name, so I started using it. I think it suits me."

Artemis looked at her for a long time, as though deciding what to make of the story. She knew what he was doing, of course. He was trying to use her past to disarm her, to give him the upper hand, and he was trying to build up an idea of who she really was, behind the attitude and the violence.

She didn't appreciate it. The story was one of the few she had that mattered to her, and she didn't like parting with it. But she let him take it, because whatever happened, she needed his help.

"Very well," said Artemis finally. "Why did you save my family? And Holly, for that matter. Why were you even inside the time-stop?"

"I needed to find Opal. I knew she would come for you eventually, or your family, so I came to Fowl Manor and waited. I was hoping she would come herself instead of sending an army of those creatures, so I had to improvise. I knew that if anyone could find Opal afterwards, it would be you. I stumbled across Holly and your family and decided that saving them would probably serve me better than letting them die."

Artemis tilted his head slightly. "So you saved my family from the formers. You're right, it was the logical move. But why save Holly?"

"I just told you. I needed you to owe me, that was only way I would get you to listen to me."

Artemis shook his head. "No. You could have achieved that by saving my family alone. I wouldn't have known that you were able to heal Holly if you hadn't tried. I wouldn't have blamed you for her death. You're cynical – why expend your magic to save someone you don't need to, especially when they are a direct threat to you?"

Natalya turned to Holly. As she watched, the elf's expression changed, a little of the hostility giving way to confusion. She was figuring out that Artemis was right – Natalya hadn't needed to save her. And she didn't look like she knew what to do with that information.

She considered her options. She had agreed to be honest, and she wasn't someone who liked to break her word, not when it was explicitly given. She would have to choose her words carefully. She continued watching Holly. Artemis was right about one thing – the elf _was_ a threat to her.

"I don't know how strong your links are to Haven," Natalya said. "I'm not sure I'm confident we can beat Opal without the LEP on side. To that end, I figured it would be better to have their captain in my debt than dead. Plus, I wasn't sure how well Artemis would up if you died."

Artemis nodded, satisfied. It wasn't the whole truth. But it wasn't a lie, either. And sometimes that was enough.

"One more question," continued Artemis. "Why did you kill Opal in Russia?"

Natalya smiled. "Revenge."

"Why? What did she do to you?"

"Her? Nothing. But she wasn't the one I was trying to get revenge on, not really."

Artemis frowned. Natalya sat patiently, waiting for him to figure it out. After a few seconds of silence, understanding flickered across his face. "Past Opal."

"I don't understand," said Holly. "They're the same person. How can you want revenge on one, but not the other?"

Artemis shook his head. "They're not the same person, not really. One way or another, we know the surviving Opal is sent back in time, because we know that she stages the goblin revolution, and the only way to explain her subsequent actions is that she was mindwiped at the same time."

"So our Opal has different memories to the one from the past?"

Artemis nodded. "Which means," he said, turning back to Natalya. "That whatever she did to you was before she came forward in time. That's why you don't care about the Opal you killed – where's the satisfaction in getting revenge on someone who doesn't even remember who you are?"

"Very good," said Natalya, smiling. "You two think you know Opal, but you don't. You don't know her past. You don't understand how these creatures – what do you call them? Former humans? – fit into a wider context. But I do."

Artemis couldn't help himself – he was curious. Natalya was right: outside of what was more or less public knowledge, at least among fairies, he knew very little of Opal's history. He had assumed that the former humans were a new threat, but perhaps they were connected to something in Opal's past. And if they were, he might be able to use whatever it was to work out what Opal was up to.

"Go on, then," he said. "Enlighten us. What does your history have to do with what's going on now?"

Natalya went to sit down on the tree stump that Holly had been sleeping on. She was making herself more vulnerable, she knew that, but this wasn't a story she wanted to tell standing up.

"It has everything to do with what's happening now," she began. "Opal has always desired power above all else. After being mindwiped and sent back in time, this craving seems to have diminished somewhat, albeit temporarily. She merely wanted to take over Haven. But you met her in the past, she didn't care about political power. She cared about personal power. She wanted to be unstoppable.

"I don't know how many ideas she considered, but as far as I know, she actively pursued two ways of achieving that goal. You know about one of them. You were responsible for stopping it."

"Her magic boosting formula," said Artemis.

Natalya nodded. "What you don't know is that that was actually her backup plan. You see, what Opal wanted more than anything else was dominion over the minds of others. She wanted an unstoppable army that would bend the world to her will, obeying without question."

"She wanted an army now, so she went back to her earlier project and created the former humans?" asked Artemis, a little disappointed. He had been hoping for more of an insight than this.

But Natalya shook her head. "Opal spent decades trying to uncover the secret, and eventually she started to make progress. A reliable method of brainwashing was her primary objective. She had a couple of successful test subjects, so she started to expand. She moved to Russia, established an underground facility she called New Dawn – an ironic name – and put together a team of gifted scientists with absolutely no consciences. No morals."

"What happened at New Dawn?" asked Artemis. "What did she do?"

Natalya gave a sharp bitter, laugh. "What didn't she do? If you can think of it, Opal tried it. Psychoactive drugs. Torture. Sleep deprivation. Starvation. Memory modification. Magic. Experiments so twisted that even she baulked at them. Like MKUltra on steroids."

The reference was lost on Holly, but Artemis knew exactly what she was talking about. Project MKUltra was the CIA's mind control program during the cold war, and it was exactly as sinister and unethical as it sounded. If what Natalya was saying was true, then it was mild compared to what Opal had been doing. He shuddered.

"She moved onto stage two," continued Natalya. "Attempting to augment subjects as well as brainwashing them, starting with humans. The first prototypes of her super soldiers were born."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "What was special about them? What do you mean _augment_?"

"I don't pretend to understand the science behind it," responded Natalya. "But in layman's terms, she upgraded them. Modified them. They were faster, smarter, stronger. Unbeatable in single combat. She gave them magic, too – powerful magic. They healed almost immediately, and they barely felt pain. They were as close to unstoppable as was feasible."

Artemis was a little pale. "You mean she succeeded? She was actually able _upgrade_ people like that?" Natalya nodded. "In that case, how come we're only finding out about them now? Why didn't she use them?"

"New Dawn was destroyed in a fire before she had a chance to unleash them. Her scientists were killed, her research destroyed, and her test subjects burned alive in their cages, unable to escape the flames. By chance, she survived, along with a single subject."

Artemis frowned. "How did the fire start? It seems hard to believe that sheer bad luck on Opal's part saved the world from her."

Natalya shook her head. "No, it wasn't an accident. Opal was making great progress, but her methods weren't a hundred percent reliable. When new subjects arrived, they underwent a process she called _conditioning_. It was designed to break their mental resilience and make them more receptive to the brainwashing process. They were tortured, drugged and degraded for extended periods of time. Sometimes years. Then they were deemed ready for _enhancement_ and _indoctrination_."

"But it didn't always work," guessed Artemis. "Sometimes, even after conditioning, people were still able to resist the brainwashing."

"Make no mistake," said Natalya. "Everyone broke eventually. But not everyone broke _completely_. Everyone became docile – obedient – but not everyone completely lost their free will. They would obey most orders they were given, but they would fail some of the more extreme tests of loyalty. They hesitated when it came to torturing – or executing – other subjects, perhaps, or they refused to torture themselves."

"What did Opal do with them?" asked Holly quietly. She wasn't even bothering to glare at Natalya anymore. "Send them back to be conditioned again?"

Natalya shrugged noncommittedly. "Sometimes they were simply executed, sometimes, yes, they were reconditioned. But most of the time, they were just taken back to their cells, except they weren't fed anymore. The bodies were left to rot. Just another way to help break the cell's next occupant."

Artemis tilted his head, giving her a look that was halfway between sympathy and comprehension. He had a horrible feeling he knew the answer to the question he was about to ask, but he knew he had to ask anyway.

"How do you know all of this?"

Natalya was silent for a moment. "I saw it."

Holly glanced at Artemis, furrowing her brow slightly. "You were there? When?"

"For years," said Natalya quietly. "I was there all nightmare long. They tortured me. Degraded me. Experimented on me. Starved me. Beat me. Raped me. Drugged me so much and for so long that I didn't know what was real anymore. I lost who I was. I forgot who my parents were, what they looked like. I forgot who my friends had been, or if I had even had any. I even forgot my own name. My entire world was pain. I started to lose my mind. All the time, I could hear Opal's voice in my head, whispering to me whenever I had a moment of respite. Sometimes I still do. Not even my magic can heal the scars.

"But I never quite broke. I was close – so close – but it wasn't enough, not for Opal. They said I was…" She closed her eyes for a moment, as if recalling a particularly difficult memory. " _Unreliable._ Sporadic. I couldn't be trusted. Opal had little need of slaves she couldn't rely on. I was already half dead, so she sent me back to my cell to starve to death."

Both Holly and Artemis kept quiet. What were they supposed to say?

"But she made a mistake," continued Natalya. "The way she upgraded us, it was too much. Too effective."

"You were too strong to be contained," said Artemis. "The destruction of New Dawn, it was you."

Natalya nodded. "God, she was stupid," she breathed. "She was so arrogant, so convinced of her own perfection, that she never even stopped to consider the risks she was taking. She created monsters before she was certain she could control them. And sooner or later, one of those monsters was going to break its chains and rip her apart.

"She sent a single guard to drag me back to my cell. She told me I was going to starve, and she laughed." Despite the pain in her voice, Natalya smiled. "She knew what I was, and she had _one_ guard take me away. She never considered I might try and avoid my fate – after all, why would she? No one else had. Everyone else just accepted their deaths.

"It seems so strange to think now, but I almost did the same. I was actually going to let myself die." Natalya had a faraway look in her eyes, as though lost in a memory.

* * *

 _The girl allowed herself to be led. The grip on her arm wasn't strong, but it didn't matter. All the guard needed to do was give her a direction, and she would follow. Following was what her kind did. They didn't have enough independent thought to do anything else._

 _So the girl stumbled in his wake, her face blank, her thoughts mute. Even the faint resistance that had been in her eyes during Opal's inspection was gone. Her bare feet, already a mess of cuts and blisters, scraped painfully against the rough stone underfoot, but she didn't notice. Didn't care. She was used to it. The pain and the squalor and the filth._

 _She didn't pay attention to the route they were taking. Every corridor was the same: a dark and narrow passage, full of grime and fetid smells, lined either with squalid cells and cages, or else evidence of some twisted human experiment. Not that she noticed any of this. It was all just part of the scenery after all of this time._

 _They took a turn into an even darker, even filthier corridor that took them even deeper into New Dawn, and recognition flickered across the girl's features. She knew this place. This was where her cell was._

 _A memory flitted through her mind. Opal speaking. Take her back to her cell, she had said. Let her starve. The girl remembered the pixie's smile as she spoke. Remembered the malice in it._

 _They were going to starve her. That's where they were going. It didn't really surprise her. She'd seen it happen to other people. Now it was her turn._

 _But then she stopped. An odd thought had just occurred to her. She didn't want to die. And she especially didn't want to starve. She knew what it was like to go weeks without food; it hurt. It was painful. She didn't want to go through that again._

 _She became aware that the guard was tightening his grip on her forearm, trying to drag her onwards. But she stayed put. She saw no reason to return to her cell._

 _The guard gave another tug. "Come on," he said. "Come on, this way."_

 _The girl frowned, as if thinking hard. "No," she said after a moment's thought. The word sounded strange in her mouth. Unfamiliar. She couldn't remember using it before._

 _The guard sighed. Most of the condemned subjects went to their deaths willingly, too far gone to even understand what was happening to them, but it wasn't the first time one of them had managed to achieve enough independent thought to realise that they didn't really want to die. Usually, a little violence brought them back in line._

 _The guard closed his free hand into a fist and threw a lazy punch, but the girl reacted, catching the fist in mid-air. The guard frowned; he hadn't been expecting that. They never normally reacted, the girls, whatever the guards did to them._

 _The girl squeezed, instantly crushing every bone in the guard_ 's _hand. He howled and tried to pull his hand free, but the girl was far too strong. She tilted her head and looked at him as he screamed and sobbed and begged, pathetic in his suffering, an intrigued expression on her face._

 _She reached out her other hand slowly – curiously – as though wondering what she was capable of. She wrapped fingers around the guard's throat and squeezed. Skin tore. Warm blood flowed through her fingers. He convulsed for a moment before going limp in her grip, and she let him fall, staring at the body, fascination all over her face._

 _She didn't know how long she stood there, trying to work it all out. After a while, she became aware that the blood on her hand was starting to congeal. She flexed her fingers, feeling the red crack, like dry paint, and closed them into a fist. She could feel the raw strength in it. Something approaching a smile tugged at lips. It was a new sensation._

 _Opal Koboi. The pixie was here, somewhere. She could find her. She could hurt her. She could kill her._

 _The girl's smile grew._

* * *

"It just… _occurred_ to me that I didn't want to die," said Natalya quietly. "That I didn't _have_ to die. So I killed him. I didn't really know what I was doing. I just did it. I stood there, I don't know how long for, working out what I wanted to do. And I realised that what I wanted to do was burn that hellhole away to nothing and kill everyone that had anything to do with what had happened to me. So I did.

"The guards tried to stop me. I tore them apart. The scientists that had tortured me and experimented on me and attempted to rob me of my free will had the audacity to ask for mercy. I killed them all, and then I went for Opal. But she wasn't there. By chance, she had gone away. I razed New Dawn and tried to find her, but what was I supposed to do? I had stepped back into the human world, where people didn't even believe in the existence of people like her."

As she finished speaking, she became aware that Holly was staring at her with disgust on her face. She raised a questioning eyebrow at the elf.

"You said that the other subjects were burned alive," Holly whispered. "You did that. All those innocent people that had been through the exact same thing that you had been through, and you left them all to die in agony. How could you?"

Natalya stood up and gave a sharp, cynical laugh. "What would you have had me do? Set them free? Release hundreds of people just as dangerous as me into the world, some utterly loyal to Opal, the rest even more damaged than I am. What do you think would have happened?"

Holly started to say something in response, but Natalya cut her off, anger rising in her voice.

"It wasn't easy. They'd been through the same hell as me. But it was a kindness, Captain Short, believe me. It was better for all involved. Those people were beyond repair. They were broken. They could never have lived, not really. All they would have done was killed a lot of people and, because some them had magic, probably exposed the People in the process."

"That doesn't mean you should murder them all!" shouted Holly, visibly agitated.

"Doesn't it?" snapped Natalya. "What else could I have done? It was let them die or unleash them onto the world. At least I didn't leave them to starve. It's easy for you to sit up there on the moral high ground, with all your lovely _principles_ , but have they ever been tested? Have you ever been forced to make a hard choice, not between good and evil, but two evils?"

Holly's expression was hard. "I had to choose between working with you to stop Opal, and killing you and possibly allowing Opal to win. I'm starting to think I made the wrong choice."

Natalya turned to Artemis. "Fowl," she spat. "Control your _pet_. If she lays a finger on me, I'll kill her."

Artemis opened his mouth to point out that Holly wasn't his pet, but then he stopped and just smiled. "You can't hurt her. I won't help you if you do."

Natalya returned the smile, but with significantly more malice. "Oh yes you will," she said nastily. "There are plenty of other people-" she gestured around at Butler and Artemis's family "-that I can threaten to get you to help me. I'm trying to do this without any of that unpleasantness, but she is starting to test my patience. So get her under control."

There was a tense silence. Holly glared at Natalya, Natalya glared at Artemis and Artemis looked like he would rather be fighting a troll in single combat than be here any longer.

"Natalya," he said eventually. "As _moving_ as that story was, I'm not sure I see how it helps us defeat Opal now. Perhaps you could elaborate?"

Natalya looked for a moment like she was going to do something violent, and Holly tensed, but then the Russian girl just sat back down, the anger gone from her eyes.

"It is important now for two reasons," she said. "One, it is the best reason I can give for why you should trust me. I want Opal stopped more than either of you can even imagine. For more than a decade, I have hunted her. Now, I finally have a chance to face her. I will not compromise that, not for anything."

Artemis hesitated, but then nodded. Natalya was right, he knew she was. He could trust her, at least to an extent, as long as they were united by Opal as a common enemy. The Russian girl would stop at nothing to achieve her revenge. But that raised another concern.

"What will you do when we reach her? You can't kill her – it would destroy the timeline."

"I understand that. I don't want to kill her. I just want her to know that it was me that killed her future, and I want my face to be the last one she sees before she's sent back in time. I want her to hate me as much I hate her."

Artemis nodded again, satisfied for now that he could rely on her to help in whatever way she was able.

"And what about the second reason?" he prompted. "Why else is it important?"

Natalya smiled. "Ah, yes. This is the key. What you must understand is that Opal categorically failed to achieve her aims. I am living proof of that fact. And if she couldn't do it then, not after decades of research and experimentation, she couldn't do it now in a few months, from scratch, with no allies. It isn't possible."

"What are you saying?" asked Holly. "That Opal isn't really controlling the formers?"

"No. I'm saying she didn't _create_ the formers. She couldn't have. Whatever they are, they already existed. You'll never find Opal if you look for her, but if you find the origin of the formers, you might just find her."

Holly was frowning, but Artemis had that faraway look in his eye as his brain sparked off ideas. He nodded absently a few times, murmuring to himself.

"Yes," he said a minute later. "Yes, that makes sense. Opal didn't create them, she just capitalised on something that was already there. That's what she was talking about when I spoke to her. A parasite like that must have left a trail somewhere in history, all we need to do it find it." He turned to Holly, an excited smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I need to talk to Foaly."

* * *

 **A/N:** So there you have it. The truth at last (speaking of which, if you go back and read the prologue, it probably makes a lot more sense now). Which means we're all set to enter the final passage of action, and this duology can reach its conclusion. After that, I have another Artemis Fowl related project I'm working on, so keep half an eye out for that if you enjoyed this story.

Anyway, you guys are awesome, thanks for the patience with my slow updates. I'll try and do better. Leave a review if you want :)

-Kio


	19. Fabled

**Chapter 19; Fabled**

 **The Fowl Estate, Ireland**

"Holly!" exclaimed Foaly as an LEP technician connected the elf to his ops booth. "Thank Frond you're alive. We assumed the worst after Fowl Manor dropped out of the normal time stream."

Holly allowed herself a smile. "It's good to hear your voice, Foaly," she replied, flashing Natalya a look. "You have no idea how much my patience has been tested today."

"So what happened? Fowl playing around with time-stops?"

Holly's expression darkened. "I wish. The time-stop was Opal's work; she trapped us and sent a horde of those creatures to kill us."

Deep underground, Foaly smiled proudly. "But you fought 'em off, eh?"

Holly hesitated. She hadn't exactly been the one to fight off the former humans, but that wasn't important right now.

"Something like that," she murmured.

"That's my girl," chuckled Foaly. "But we need you back in Haven as soon as possible. Things are falling apart down here. I'd have a shuttle sent, but we honestly can't spare a pilot right now. You're going to have to pick up a shuttle from Tara and fly here yourself."

Holly took a breath. "Listen, Foaly. Juliet's dead. Butler's unconscious. I'm out of magic. We're not in good shape right now, but I can't afford to come home at the moment. The formers are infectious, and Artemis doesn't think Opal can control them indefinitely. Whatever's happening below ground, Opal is still our number one priority."

Foaly ground his teeth audibly. "What do you want me to do? Like I said, we don't even a pilot spare to come and collect you, and you want me to send you an army so you can wage war on Opal Koboi? Forget it."

Even though Foaly couldn't see her, Holly shook her head. "I'm not asking for reinforcements. Artemis thinks there's a way for us to stop her, but he says he needs to talk to you."

Foaly was silent for a long moment. "Alright, I'll give Fowl the benefit of the doubt for Russia. Put him on."

Holly flashed Artemis a smile and handed him the communicator. "He's all yours, Mud Boy."

Artemis nodded his thanks and hooked the earpiece over his ear. "Foaly?"

Foaly didn't even offer a sarcastic response. Highly out of character. "What do you need, Mud Boy? I'm on a tight schedule here. I shouldn't even be talking to you."

"Very well, I won't bore you with the details. My questions may seem odd, but try to answer them to the best of your ability."

Foaly sat back in his chair. "Alright," he said. "Fire away."

"Does the LEP have any idea at all where Opal was before she emerged with the formers at her shoulder? No matter how vague it is, I need to know."

Foaly hesitated. Of course he did. That information was classified, after all. But Holly was right; whatever the situation was in Haven, Opal was still a bigger threat. If Artemis needed information, the least he could do was give it to him.

"Not really," he admitted. "There was a possible sighting in Vietnam, but nothing remotely concrete. One of the fairies in the task force hunting for her had a theory that she was looking for something in Southeast Asia, but I don't think she had much in the way of facts to support it."

"What was she supposed to have been looking for?" asked Artemis, his curiosity piqued.

"No idea, I'm afraid," replied Foaly.

"Oh well," said Artemis. "Before Opal attacked Fowl Manor, she spoke to me. She mentioned something about a dead city, and a secret. It's something to do with the formers, I'm sure it is. Do you have any idea what she could have been referring to?"

Foaly frowned. "Nothing springs to mind. The People don't exactly have dead cities – settlements are always demolished if they are no longer inhabited – and there are any number of abandoned human cities. What were her exact words?"

"She said that she thought she alone had discovered the secret of the dead city."

Foaly was quiet for a while. " _The_ dead city," he mused. "Not _a_ dead city."

Artemis leaned forward, excited. "Is that significant?"

"Probably not," said Foaly. "I still can't think of anything useful. But the People sometimes refer to Shangri-La as the Dead City."

Artemis furrowed his brow. "Shangri-La? Isn't that a myth?"

Foaly chuckled. "So narrow minded," he said. "When will you learn? A hefty chunk of human myth and legend is actually based on the People's history."

Artemis sighed, frustrated. "I am aware of that, I just wasn't aware that Shangri-La was one of those things."

"What _is_ Shangri-La?" interrupted Natalya.

"Who's that?" asked Foaly, silently cursing the lack of video.

"Long story," replied Artemis. "And you're short on time, remember?" Foaly groaned, but Artemis ignored him, turning to Natalya. "Shangri-La – or Shambhala, to give it its proper name – is a secret kingdom in Buddhist mythology, hidden somewhere in the Himalayas. It was supposed to be an earthly paradise, sealed off from the rest of the world, the inhabitants of which were said to be immortal, living for thousands of years."

Foaly took over the story. "I'm not sure about earthly paradise," he said. "But since it was a fairy city, the inhabitants did live thousands of years. It was built under the Himalayas after the Battle of Taillte – actually, it was one of the first big underground cities. But I don't see how any of this helps us find Opal."

Artemis kept his face smooth, but he couldn't quite keep the excitement out of his voice. "It helps," he said. "I'm sure it does. I just need to piece everything together." He closed his eyes in concentration. "Why do the People call it the Dead City?"

It was obvious that Foaly was deeply sceptical, but he answered anyway.

"Because that's what it is," the centaur explained. "A dead city. A lost city. There are legends, but no one really knows what happened. Plenty of fairies have gone looking for it over the years, but none ever managed to find it."

"Promising," Artemis muttered. He sat down, taking the communicator with him. He composed himself. "Foaly. I need to know the legends. Tell me everything there is to know about Shangri-La."

He could tell that Foaly was just itching to ask why, but in the interest of time, the centaur managed to contain his curiosity.

"Alright," he began. "Our records aren't great when it comes to that period, but I'll do my best. Like I said, it was built almost ten thousand years ago after the Battle of Taillte. No one knows exactly where, but we're pretty sure it was under the Tibetan region of the Himalayas. It was a fairly normal fairy settlement for a few thousand years; as far as we can tell, nothing interesting happened until around seven and a half thousand years ago."

"Then what?" Artemis prompted.

Foaly sighed. "That's where things get murky. It seems as though the residents began to discover large deposits of natural resources deep beneath their city, and it started transitioning into a mining settlement; although, the extent of that disputed."

"How so?"

"The region isn't exactly known for a wealth of natural resources. Most historians are sceptical that anything particularly valuable was discovered. But according to legend, they discovered vast seams of gold and other minerals, and great caves of jewels."

Artemis was visibly unimpressed. "That seems unlikely."

"Well, obviously that bit isn't true," said Foaly. "But you asked to hear the legend, so there you go."

Artemis inclined his head a little, despite the fact that Foaly couldn't see him. "Very well," he said. "Continue."

"Supposedly, the city grew wealthy and began rapidly expanding as fairies arrived from all over the world to try and share in the riches. Again, this is probably an exaggeration, but there's credible evidence of a sudden spike in emigration from other settlements to Shangri-La. The problem was, no one came back."

"Why?"

"Put simply," said Foaly. "We don't know. This is where we cross entirely into the realm of guesswork. We know that their society began to collapse and the fairies started fighting amongst themselves, but we don't know why. There are plenty of theories, but no evidence to support any of them."

"What are the theories?" asked Artemis eagerly.

"There are loads. Some people say that it was greed; they were so captivated by the jewels they were finding that they started to kill each other to get their hands on more of them. Others say that they dug too deep and uncovered some ancient evil that destroyed them all. Some people reckon they somehow got cut off from supplies and they started fighting over what food they had stored."

Artemis frowned. "The People are peaceful by nature. That doesn't sound like them."

Foaly shrugged. "They're just theories. There probably isn't any merit to them. There's a record of the King at the time sending a team of warlocks to seal off Shangri-La, but the record isn't complete, so we don't know why. Probably the most credible suggestion is that there was there was a plague of some kind, and the King wanted to quarantine it."

Artemis paused, then started nodding absently. "Yes," he breathed. "It fits. That's how she did it."

Both Holly and Natalya gave him odd looks. Neither had any idea how any of this was supposed fitted together, but Holly at least had learned to trust Artemis when it came to things like this.

Foaly was less generous, and spat a curse in Centaurian. "What in Frond's name are you talking about, Mud Boy? These are _legends_. Myths. They aren't real. They have nothing to do Opal."

Artemis shook his head. "They have everything to do with Opal."

Foaly sounded like he was running out of patience. " _How_?

"I examined one of the creatures Opal is using. It was a normal elf but with a parasite living inside it. The parasite had completely taken it over and was controlling the body, and all the parasite wanted to do was infect more victims. It wasn't capable of rational thought, so neither was the elf. It just wanted to kill."

"I still don't get it. What's the connection?"

"The plague," said Artemis. "That's the key. They didn't start fighting amongst themselves because other people were getting ill, they fought because _they_ were ill. The infection changed their nature, it made them violent. Savage. It robbed them of their reason."

It finally clicked for Foaly. "The formers," he breathed. "You think they're from Shangri-La?"

Artemis nodded. "The Fallen. That's what Opal called them. And while she seems to be controlling them, I have learned that did not create them." He glanced briefly at Natalya. "So it was just a question of working out where they really came from. The answer, I believe, is Shangri-La."

It seemed like a breakthrough, but when Foaly spoke again, he didn't sound impressed. "You're making some pretty big leaps, there. And how is any of this even possible? A parasite that could do that, that's… that's absurd, honestly. There's nothing even beginning to approach that level of sophistication on the planet."

"I know that. But I examined the creature, and I know what I saw. Believe me, it's real." Artemis paused, thinking. "Perhaps it isn't from this planet."

Foaly snorted. "An alien parasite? Come on Mud Boy, even by your standards that's mental."

Artemis shrugged. "It's a possibility. The Earth's been here for billions of years, it's not inconceivable that at some point, a meteorite carrying bacteria from another planet crashed into it."

Foaly sounded far from convinced. "What, and these bacteria just sit there for millennia, biding its time? What sustains it?"

Artemis thought for a moment, but then the answer came to him. "Hard radiation. You said Shangri-La was rich in resources; why not something like uranium? The lifeforms feed off the radiation for millions of years, mutating. Changing. The fairies in Shangri-La uncover them and are infected."

Foaly started to laugh derisively, but then it petered out. "That's… that's actually not impossible. It's unlikely, but…"

"I know," said Artemis. "I'm not saying that's what happened. I'm just speculating; there are all sorts of other possibilities. Ones I haven't even thought of. But the point is, if I'm right, if Opal found Shangri-La and modified the parasite she found there, then that's where the hive mind will be."

"It's settled, then," said Natalya, as though none of this was a surprise to her. "We go to Shangri-La, and we kill the hive mind. Simple."

"Who _is_ that?" asked Foaly, clearly annoyed at being left out of the loop.

Everyone ignored him. Holly turned to Natalya. "I hate to break this to you," she said. "Even if this whole thing wasn't a massive longshot – which isn't obvious – people have been searching for Shangri-La for millennia. It's a lost city for a reason; no one managed to find it."

Natalya looked unfazed. "Opal found it," she corrected. "And if she can do it, Artemis can." She turned to the youth. "You _can_ do it, right?"

Artemis smiled his vampire smile. "Oh yes," he said. "I'll find it."

* * *

Holly had been and gone to Tara, as requested, but instead of taking one of their shuttles down to Haven to assist what was left of the LEP take back control of the city, she had commandeered said shuttle, bringing it back to Artemis to use as a base of operations. The sprite on duty hadn't been keen on the idea, but he had come around. Holly could be very persuasive when she wanted to be. As could her buzz baton.

Now, though, she was bored. She had used the shuttle to relocate the entire party – it was now nestled, shield active, in a forest clearing in northern England – so that they could plan in peace. Artemis sat inside the shuttle and pored over maps and ancient texts, and though she had tried keeping him company, she'd quickly realised that he was better off left alone to focus. She hadn't been keen on trying to engage Artemis's family in conversation, and Butler was still unconscious. She'd even grown tired of her new favourite pastime, glaring at Natalya for long periods of time. The Russian girl didn't rise to it. She didn't give any indication she was even aware of it. She just sat in silence outside the shuttle, ever alert, ever vigilant, waiting for something to happen.

 _More likely waiting for a target to present itself_ , thought Holly darkly. _Knowing her she just wants something to kill._

She went back into the shuttle. "Your _new friend_ looks like she's waiting for something," she told Artemis. "She's been like that for hours. What's she up to?"

Artemis sighed. "Please, Holly. She is by no means my friend. As for what she is doing, I would hazard a guess at waiting for Opal."

A chill passed through Holly. "You think she'll find us?"

Artemis shrugged. "It's possible, I suppose. Though not particularly likely."

"What happens if she does?" Holly asked, a note of tension creeping into her voice. She had assumed they were safe here – another encounter with the Fallen wasn't exactly high on her list of priorities. She'd been lucky enough to survive her previous one. Without Artemis's genius and – she hated to admit it – Natalya's magic, she would already be dead.

Artemis, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned. He gestured around them. "This is a shuttle, is it not? It can fly. I don't believe the Fallen are capable of that feat."

"And if Opal tries to shoot us down?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't worry about that. I happen to know an excellent pilot. I believe she specialises in _ridiculous evasive manoeuvres likely to get everyone on board killed_. It sounds dangerous, I grant you, but she hasn't let me down, not once."

Holly couldn't help smiling inwardly at the compliment, but her outward expression didn't compromise. "Sounds like a risk me."

"Correct. It is a risk we run. Opal is unlikely to find us here, and we don't have time to find somewhere more secluded. Not to mention there is no LEP help available. I'm afraid, Holly, we are going to have to hope for the best."

"That doesn't sound much like Artemis Fowl."

A hint of amusement announced itself in Artemis's expression. "Perhaps. But then I am a changed man, am I not?"

Holly grumbled something that Artemis couldn't quite discern, and left him again. Artemis allowed himself to smile more fully and went back to his work. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he was enjoying himself. Solving complex problems was what he lived for, and the mystery of Shangri-La was definitely complex. Extremely so.

Foaly had sent him a digital copy of anything that he thought might be useful, but centaur had been right about one thing: there wasn't a lot to go on. Artemis had been steadily building a solid understanding of the historical context and the records that did exist, and had felt like he was close to a breakthrough, but then the information had started to thin out. Now his enjoyment was on the verge of being replaced by frustration. It was like staring at a partially completed jigsaw and being certain that you would be able to discern the image if there were just a few more pieces in place.

He leaned back, allowing his thoughts to wonder for a moment. "Oh, Opal," he mused aloud. "How did you do it?"

His focus sharpened again. _How had she done it?_ It seemed unlikely that she would have had access to all of the information that he was looking at now. She had had more time, true, but Artemis didn't think that time was what was keeping him back. No, he was making a mistake. He was thinking about it the wrong way. Fairy scholars had spent thousands of hours studying the information before him, and none of them had made any headway. But Opal had. He didn't need to follow their example, he needed to follow Opal's.

Artemis closed every file he had open and turned away from the screen. He closed his eyes. A little inspiration. That was all he needed.

What did Opal have that no one else did?

It couldn't be magic. If a couple of the blue sparks were the key to finding the lost city then any one of the fairy researchers could have done it.

Information? It was possible that Opal he encountered some piece of lost information during her misguided youth that had led her to Shangri-La. It didn't seem likely though; from what he knew, Opal had never showed any interest in history or archaeology. She was too clever and too rich to have been drawn to Shangri-La by the tales of material wealth. The only reason he could think of for her to seek the Dead City was the discovery of the Fallen. And if she already knew about them, why go to all the trouble trying to create her own slaves?

And according to Natalya, once she had failed in that endeavour, she had abandoned the project and pursued her magic boosting formula instead. She had only returned to it after being dragged into the future.

So, what was different about her this time? Why this time, had she been able to discover the Fallen and locate the entrance to Shangri-La?

The only thing he could think of was her power level. Opal had come dangerously close to completing her magic boosting formula, and alongside that had come ferocious magic.

Artemis paused. Magic. What if it _was_ magic after all? Not the capacity for it, but the intensity of it? Or perhaps the type…

He recalled his analysis of the parasite inside the former elf. Its existence shouldn't have been possible. Neither should the existence of the hivemind they were now hunting. At the time, he had hypothesized that magic must have been involved. It was the only explanation.

Everything fell into place. Opal Koboi had allowed dark magic to fester deep in what was left of her soul. The hivemind must be, at least in part, a magical entity. The parasites that gave life to the Fallen were a physical manifestation of that dark magic. Impossible beings that corrupted life itself. Koboi had been drawn to that darkness, her black magic the link between them. That was the key.

Artemis stood up and went to the window of the shuttle. His gaze found Natalya. It just so happened that Opal wasn't the only one with a supply of black magic.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for anyone still here, still putting up with my apparent inability to organise my time sufficiently to actually put out content. I've just finished my exams and with them my first year of university (yay for me), so now I'm free for summer. I plan to actually, you know, update this. Like I was supposed to about two months ago.

Anyways, you know the drill, this is the bit where I shamelessly beg for some form of validation in the form of a review. Even if it's a critical one. It still shows that you cared enough to criticise. So… yeah. Review. Thanks :)

-Kio


	20. Farewell

**A/N:** As of last chapter, this story has reached a hundred reviews, so I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone for continuing to support this story :)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 20; Farewell**

 **Location Unknown**

Opal hovered in the lotus position, unsure how she felt. She didn't know how many had survived the attack on Fowl Manor. The flames had consumed her army, but she didn't know if Artemis and his friends had been able escape in time or if the explosion had been their misguided attempt to bring the Fallen with them to the grave.

It had hurt. She hadn't expected that. As the parasites were ripped from their hosts by the inferno, she had felt their pain. Felt their dying screams deep within her. It had been agony, like every nerve in her body was burning.

And yet, despite the pain, despite the possibility that Artemis Fowl and that wretched elf Holly Short were still alive, she couldn't quite find it in her to be angry. Her hatred flitted around her mind, still a part of her, but just out of reach. She remembered what it was like to hate Artemis, to despise him with every fibre of her being and to want nothing more than to watch him burn, but the emotion was hazy, as if separated from her by frosted glass. Artemis didn't seem to matter so much anymore. Nor did Holly Short.

The parasite, that was her priority. It was perfect. The absolute pinnacle of evolution. And it needed her help to conquer the surface. Who was she to deny it? She didn't have a future anymore, at least not in the conventional sense. She had nothing to lose, and in many senses, nothing to gain.

But that didn't mean she was done. Not even remotely. Because there was still a whole world out there; a whole world that needed to be made to suffer the same way the world had made Opal Koboi suffer. Tens of thousands of fairies; billions of humans; just waiting to die.

Waiting to be assimilated.

"Mistress."

The word was a strangled snarl, but Opal understood. At first, she had needed to use her magic to communicate with the Fallen, but no longer. Now she could feel the meaning of their stunted speech. It all felt so natural. Like she belonged.

"What is it?" she replied, not bothering to turn to face the minion.

"We are weak. We need more hosts."

"In time."

The Fallen human growled its displeasure. "The humans live in great nests. Tens of thousands of hosts. They are defenceless. We must take them."

Opal sighed. "Cities. Yes, I am aware of them. But the humans also possess weapons of unfathomable destruction. If we reveal ourselves before we are ready, what few warriors we have left will be annihilated."

The Fallen reared its rotting head angrily. "You would have us wait?"

Opal finally turned to it, her eyes alight with malice. She smiled. "Oh no. The People are in turmoil. They will make a much softer target."

The Fallen human attempted to mirror her expression, its disfigured features twisting into an ugly smile. "Fairy blood," it breathed.

Opal nodded. "Then we will be strong once again. Assuming they are still alive, Short and Fowl will be isolated. And we will be free to enslave humanity at our pleasure."

* * *

Artemis emerged from the shuttle with renewed confidence. He called Holly and Natalya over to him, allowing a slight smile to decorate his face.

"Good news?" asked Holly.

Artemis nodded. "I believe I know how to find Shangri-La.

The elf frowned. "I thought you were trying to work out where it was? Not how to find out where it was."

"I was. Using the resources I received from Foaly, I have narrowed it down to a specific region of the Himalayas, but the entrance is supposed to be magically hidden, and I can't find anything referencing its exact location. However, all is not lost." He turned pointedly to Natalya. "I believe Opal used her black magic to guide her way to the hive mind. You should be able to do the same thing."

Natalya tried to keep her expression as unreadable as always, but Artemis could tell she was taken aback. "I'm not sure," she said slowly. "I have no formal tuition in magic, and no knowledge of magical science. Opal only saw fit to teach us magic's violent applications."

Artemis shrugged. "Well, it's our only chance, so if you're not up to the task, we're all dead. No pressure." He turned his attention back to Holly without waiting for a response. "Holly, please fetch my family. We will have to deposit them in a safe location before we pursue the hive mind."

Holly left to do as she was asked, her expression mixed, as though she couldn't decide between enjoying Natalya's newfound discomfort and being appalled that they were going to have to rely on her to find Shangri-La.

Natalya watched her go. "Fowl. What you are asking of me is unlikely to work. You must realise this."

"It has to work. There is no other choice." Artemis closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. "The parasites. Can you… I don't know, _sense_ anything when you are near them?"

Natalya shook her head, but then furrowed her brow slightly, as if reconsidering. "When I healed Holly, I felt it, the thing inside her. It called out to me. Like a scream. A dying scream."

"I suppose that could be relevant. What about anything more general? Since the Fallen re-emerged, have you felt some kind of malignant presence calling to you from deep underground?"

Natalya smiled faintly. "You're joking, right? A _malignant presence_?" She shook her head. "I'll do my best when we get there, but come on. Don't you think I might have mentioned something like that?"

Artemis's gaze was like ice. "I'm not convinced that you are even _capable_ of conducting yourself in an honest or forthright manner. I will question at all times the veracity of anything you tell me, and whether or not you have omitted key information, whether because of simple incompetence or deliberate malicious intent. Do you understand?"

After a moment of frosty silence, Natalya reached out a careful hand and touched underneath Artemis's chin. She tilted his head upwards so their eyes were level, reminding him of the height difference between the two of them.

"Be careful, Fowl," she whispered. Then the hand was gone, and she was heading back to shuttle.

Artemis exhaled slowly. He didn't appreciate the touch. The last time Natalya had touched his skin, she had been torturing him. And while she had entirely erased the physical wounds, the emotional ones were no less raw than on the day.

Holly returned with Artemis's family and together they boarded the shuttle. Artemis Sr. and Angeline took the twins to what served as the shuttle's passenger area and tried to make themselves as comfortable as it was possible to be in a military shuttle. Artemis Jr. made to follow Holly to the cockpit, but he was interrupted by a groan. Butler seemed to be regaining consciousness.

Holly spared him a supportive glance. "It's best coming from you."

Artemis took a breath. "I know."

"Call if you need me."

Artemis nodded absently and went to the stirring giant. It wouldn't have been such impossible news to deliver if Juliet had simply been killed in the struggle, but the fact that she had given her life for his layered his grief with guilt. For Artemis, Juliet's legacy was one of crushing responsibility, as though he had inherited the duty of justifying her sacrifice through his future actions.

And there was no doubt in his mind that he would hold himself accountable if he failed to deliver, even if no one else was willing to.

"Domovoi." He lent down and helped his manservant up into something resembling a sitting position. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was just trampled by a small herd of elephants," Butler said before frowning, as though his mind was taking a moment to catch up with his ears. "You used my name. What's wrong? What happened?"

Artemis hunted for a way to say it. A way that might render the blow just a fraction softer. Anything that was better than the blunt truth.

Nothing came to mind.

"Juliet is dead. She gave her life so that I could escape the formers."

Butler stiffened, but was silent. Artemis studied him, searching for a sign.

"I'm sorry," he said, and immediately regretted it. The words felt woefully inadequate, a hollow gesture in the wake of an unimaginable tragedy. But he didn't know what else to say. A thousand explanations, callous excuses, fought for priority against worthless words of comfort, but Artemis pushed them all away. They weren't enough. Nothing would ever be enough. Making an attempt to alleviate the pain felt almost foolish. It would be nothing more than an attempt to diminish the severity of what had happened.

Butler slowly pulled himself to his feet, the movements clumsy, his once unmatched coordination sealed away behind stupefaction. His eyes found Natalya.

"Artemis," he said quietly. "Why is that girl on board this shuttle?"

Natalya caught a fragment of the conversation and turned. An emotion flitted across her face when she saw Butler conscious.

"She saved us," said Artemis, unable to think of a reason not to tell the whole truth. "All of us. And she healed you and Holly."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"She's still here because we need her to defeat Opal. Far from ideal, I know, but it's the reality. It's work with her or doom to entire planet."

Butler was silent for some moments. "I see," he said eventually, and started to walk away from Artemis. It wasn't obvious what he was thinking, or what he was planning to do.

"Butler…?" Artemis called after him, but the bodyguard shook his head without turning around.

"No, Artemis. Just no. I need to be on my own."

Artemis watched helplessly as he retreated, forcing down the urge to go after his oldest friend. It wouldn't do any good, that much he was sure of.

Holly was just finishing her pre-flight checks as Artemis joined her in the cockpit.

"How is he?"

Artemis sat down heavily. "He wants to be left alone."

Holly nodded sympathetically. "I understand how he feels. Were you brave enough to tell him about your Faustian pact?"

"If by that you mean accepting assistance from Natalya, yes, I did."

"I'm impressed."

"Don't be. He saw her. And no, he didn't react very well to that either."

Holly was still angry about the situation with Natalya, and she considered pressing her advantage, but Artemis was weak right now – weaker than she'd seen him in some time – and she knew her conscience wouldn't tolerate it. She instead filled the silence with the roar of the shuttle's engines. Artemis had already programmed their destination into the onboard computer, and she brought up the pre-calculated route.

"Holly?"

The elf turned to her human companion. "Yep?"

"I'm worried."

Holly continued the take-off procedure, covering her surprise. This wasn't like Artemis. Not at all.

"I didn't know Artemis Fowl did _worried_ ," she said lightly, trying to take the edge off his words. Judging by his expression, it didn't work. "Come on, we've never failed to save the world before. I don't see why this time should be any different."

"It's not that. I'm worried about what happens after."

Holly gunned the ignition and the shuttle began to rise out of the forest clearing. "I don't understand."

"I feel… different. Have you noticed it? Even since I regained my memories, I haven't quite been the same as I was before."

Holly tilted her head slightly, considering it. Now that she gave thought to it, Artemis had seemed a little different. A little more normal than his old self. A touch more subdued, perhaps, as well.

"I'll bet it's what Natalya did to you. I'm sure it'll clear right up once we get №1 to heal your mind."

"Maybe," said Artemis, but his tone was doubtful.

"You don't agree?"

"I'm not sure," he said after a moment's pause, and Holly could tell it was the truth. "I suspect you are half right. I think what Natalya did was part of it, but not the magical side of things. Not the programming. Just the things she did."

Holly didn't say anything, but she could feel anger welling up inside her all over again. How could Artemis even consider working with this girl?

"It's not only that, though," Artemis continued. "Do you remember all those years ago, when you healed Butler in London?"

Holly hesitated, wondering where Artemis was heading with the question, then nodded. How could she forget?

"Do you remember what you said to me? About my schemes?"

Holly thought for a moment, willing the memory to the surface. "I told you they had a tendency to get people hurt. Particularly those that cared about you."

"I thought I understood what you meant. I thought to myself, _she's right, I need to stop playing these games_. But I didn't stop, and I didn't understand, not really."

"Isn't that for the best, though? Aren't you glad we got to have all those extra adventures?"

"You're right. I am glad. And since we saved the world a few times in the process, I'm sure everyone else is too. Or at least, they would be if they knew. But I don't think I can go on. All of this… it's too much."

"Oh, Arty."

Artemis smiled bitterly. "I thought I was so grown up, gambling other people's lives, and the fate of the world. Gambling my own life. Playing games I had no right to. Shouldering burdens no one can bear alone. But I think now, I've finally grown up. I finally learned the lessons that anyone else would have learned years ago."

Holly didn't speak, but her face made it clear how she felt. Her anger was gone. All she could muster now was sympathy.

"Twice, now, I've made Butler and my parents grieve for me. The second time, I put you through that pain as well. Juliet gave her life for mine, and now my oldest friend is without his only family. The twins had to suffer through a _siege_ for God's sake. My ill-thought-out plan to rescue you cost Trouble and countless others their lives. And that's not even mentioning the list of bad things I did deliberately – we went through that list more than enough when I had Atlantis, and we both know it's long. Far longer than it has any right to be."

"I thought we'd been over this – you can't blame yourself for other people's actions! Opal killed Juliet. Natalya took you from me, and from your family. And the first time you went missing, that was just bad luck!"

Artemis shook his head patiently. "I am not accepting blame for the malice of our various opponents over the years. But what cannot be denied is that those things happened, and would not have happened if I had acted differently. Do not misunderstand me: I am not necessarily saying I regret them – although I wish some of them hadn't happened. I think you are right; it was for the best. The world needed saving, and this was a lesson I needed to learn for myself.

"But it cannot continue. We will stop Opal, and this time, it will be permanent – Natalya made sure of that. We will destroy the Fallen once and for all. But, assuming we survive, it will be our last adventure. And this time, I mean it."

Holly turned her attention back to flying for a moment, trying to work out how this made her feel.

"It's not just about the effect on other people, either," Artemis added. "There has been a personal cost. Atlantis, attempting to sacrifice myself and Natalya's torture are the worst culprits, but there are others. I feel… older. Weary, almost. Things got a lot darker, at least for me. For you, too, I think. Our adventures are no longer the light-hearted affairs they once were."

Holly tried to digest this. Artemis was right; things had got darker. A lot darker. And now that she thought about, she realised that he wasn't the only one who had suffered a personal cost as a result. In the last few months, she had been shot, kidnapped, tortured, lied to, beaten within an inch of her life multiple times, and had to watch the Lower Elements descend into chaos and murderous resentment. She had had to grieve for both Trouble and Artemis. All of that, it had changed her, cost her some of the person she had always prided herself on being. Her old self, for example, would have never considered what she was going to do to Natalya once Opal and the Fallen were defeated.

But that wasn't what was bothering her. Or at least, not what was bothering her the most. There was something else, clawing at her insides. It took her a moment to put her finger on exactly what it was.

"What does this mean for us?

Artemis smiled. "Hopefully, it means we will actually have the opportunity to spend time together for the sake of each other, rather than simply because the world requires our cooperation. And hopefully it means that we will live long enough to get the most out of each other's company. That is, if you haven't changed your mind…?"

Holly returned the smile. "Never," she whispered, and leaned over to kiss him. Because while she didn't know what was going to happen, she knew one thing for sure: now that she had him, she was never going to let Artemis go. Not for anything.

After everything, she reckoned she had earned the right to be selfish about something.

* * *

"I really can't allow you to run off like this," insisted Artemis Sr., stood on the steps of the safehouse to which Holly had delivered the Fowl family. "It isn't your job to save the world all on your own. Stay with us."

His son gave a slightly crooked smile. "I won't be on my own. Butler will be there. Holly will be there. I know you don't really know her, but believe me, there is no one you would rather have by my side."

"What I would rather is that you don't go gallivanting off to your death! It's absurd. You're a teenager, for God's sake."

Artemis Jr. chose his words carefully. He was uncomfortably aware of how much his father was sounding like himself, only a few hours ago, talking to Holly.

"I am an extraordinarily capable teenager. And I have experience in this field. Considerable experience, in fact."

"That doesn't mean you have to go," his father pleaded.

"You're right. That isn't why I have to go. I have to go because I am the only person that can do this. If I choose the easy path, all life on this planet will be destroyed. I have decided not to allow that, and that decision if final."

Artemis Sr. held his son's gaze for a long moment. He looked slightly taken aback at the finality in his son's words, but maybe there was a touch of pride sneaking into his expression as well.

"Angeline?" he asked eventually.

Angeline smiled sadly. "Arty, my son. My poor, brave boy. I would love to forbid you to go. I would love nothing more than to have you stay safe forever. But I know that the time has long since passed for your parents to make decisions for you, and that it wouldn't change a thing if we tried."

Artemis Jr. swallowed, surprised to realise that there were unshed tears in his eyes. He blinked them away.

Angeline stepped forward and embraced him. "Please," she whispered. "Be careful. I can't bear the thought of losing you again."

"I will be, Mum." Artemis took a careful breath. "Stay here, stay inside. I doubt Opal will even be looking for you, but there is always a chance. I should hate to return from saving the world to find myself an orphan."

Artemis extricated himself from his mother's arms and went to twins. Both were absent their characteristic smiles, replaced by grave expressions that looked amiss on their childlike faces.

"Hey," said Artemis, bending down and ruffling their curls. "Be good for Mum and Dad while I'm gone, OK? And take care of them. I'm sure I'll be back soon."

Neither twin looked convinced.

Artemis sighed. "Proper little cynics, aren't you?" He smiled. "Mum told me you didn't believe me last time I said that. But I was fine, wasn't I?"

 _Even if Juliet wasn't_ , he thought, but didn't bother adding.

The two still looked somewhat anxious, but their brother's words seemed to reassure them at least a little.

"Good luck," said Myles quietly.

Artemis straightened and looked down at his brother, finding himself feeling surprisingly grateful. He considered saying something glib about not needing luck, but it didn't feel right. Instead he just smiled.

"Thanks, Myles."

He exchanged hugs with his father, and then again with his mother, before turning to face the four of them.

"Goodbye," he said. "And thank you. For everything."

And with that he was gone, striding towards the sunset. Holly would be back to collect him shortly, and he had no intention of being late. He knew from experience that saving the world tended to be the kind of thing done on a rather tight schedule.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter is slightly different in tone to the rest of the story, and to canon as well. I don't know whether Artemis felt in character when talking to Holly, because their conversation definitely strays away from how they are in canon, but I wanted to underline the fact this and Winter of Decay are significantly darker stories than the canon ones and that the things that Holly and Artemis go through don't come without personal costs. Holly isn't the quite same person as she was in canon anymore. Neither is Artemis. Obviously, Artemis changes a lot over the course of the books, and shows that change most strikingly in TLG, so I kind of wanted to do a slightly sombre twist on that. As he says to Holly, I imagine that he finally grows up. He isn't a kid anymore. Which seems to me the perfect ending for the series, and perfect situation for A/H to take place.

Anyway, tell me what you think in a review :)

-Kio


	21. Descent

**A/N:** What's this? An update from Kio? Impossible. Perhaps there is hope after all…

Joke aside, I'm sorry it's so long since I updated. I've actually been doing a bunch of work on this story over the past few weeks (not that you'd know it from ) and am pleased to say that I've now finished writing it. Well, the epilogue still needs a few finishing touches, but it's basically done. The final thing clocks in at 26 chapters and almost 140,000 words (excluding author's notes). All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how everything has come together. There are one or two things that might be a touch controversial, but I think they're in keeping with the story so far. And the climax (which begins here) is nothing if not exciting and action packed.

Anyway, the effect of all of that is basically that I just need to edit/proofread what I've already got and I can get the whole thing uploaded. Which hopefully means slightly more timely updates. Fingers crossed. Either way, I hope you at least enjoy this chapter :)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 21; Descent**

 **The Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau**

The shuttle ride was a far cry from the one that Artemis and the others had taken to Amber's Nebula Facility two months prior. Then, despite his returning Atlantis Complex and fear of the inevitable danger into which they were headed, Artemis had been able to draw strength from the presence of his friends. There had been an atmosphere of camaraderie. Five friends, bonded by joint hardship, that would have given their lives for each other.

Not this time. Juliet had already given her life. Artemis wasn't sure he would be brave enough to offer his a second time. There were no comfortingly inane comments from Mulch, and Holly wasn't quite her normal feisty self at the moment. And Butler was… well, God only knew what state Butler was in, but he definitely wasn't the same man that had stood by Artemis's side for all those years.

And Natalya? She certainly wasn't a friend. Even _grudging ally_ seemed generous. Artemis knew that while she had agreed to help them, actually relying on her for anything specific would be a mistake.

Nobody spoke. Butler had made it clear that he wasn't interested in conversation. Natalya was given a wide berth for obvious reasons. Not that she seemed to mind. Artemis sat in the cockpit with Holly, but the elf seemed withdrawn. He could tell something was playing on her mind, but he didn't ask any questions. Whatever it was, they had bigger problems at the moment. If it was important, she would tell him later.

Besides, the silence suited him fine. He had had plenty to think about himself since saying farewell to his parents, and he could feel his past decisions weighing even more heavily on him than normal. He found that he wasn't in the mood to talk.

Someone was coming up behind them. Artemis didn't turn. He knew who it was.

"ETA?" Natalya was straight to the point as usual. She didn't really do small talk, a fact that both Artemis and Holly were grateful for. At the very least, it simplified their exchanges.

"Two minutes." Holly replied without taking her eyes off the console in front of her.

Natalya nodded. "You got a plan, Fowl?"

"Not really. Thanks to the shuttle's armoury, we've got plenty of explosives. You find the entrance, we go in, locate the hivemind, and destroy it. Should be fairly straightforward."

"What else do we have from the armoury?"

Holly took that question. "Not much. The explosives are Foaly's pet project so they'll pack a hell of a punch, but there's nothing else worth mentioning. No wings, so I'm grounded once we arrive, and no weapons that'll work against the formers. If we have to fight, we're down to our fists and whatever you and Butler have on you."

Natalya shrugged. "I still have my swords. I'll be fine." She paused. "Fowl. One other thing. Your bodyguard – what's up with him?"

Artemis didn't respond immediately. "His sister died. At Fowl Manor."

There was a tense silence. "I see. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." The words were out before Holly could stop them. "You buried a sword in his sister's chest not two months ago. You didn't seem to care then."

"They were both trying to kill me. Just because I defended myself then doesn't mean I can't have sympathy now-"

"Don't," Holly interrupted. "Try and explain anything. Just don't."

Natalya went quiet. "I see," she repeated eventually, and turned her attention back to Artemis. "Call me when we arrive. I'll do my best to find your entrance."

* * *

Considering the idyllic snow-caps topping the mountains on each side and the fact that it was technically still winter, the valley they landed in wasn't as cold as one might expect. Nevertheless, Artemis suppressed a shudder as he left the shuttle, resisting the urge to comment. Now didn't seem the time for weather complaints.

"Well, Mud Boy," said Holly briskly, surveying the valley they had landed in, her coil heated suit easily staving off the evening chill. "Plan?"

Artemis turned to Natalya, feeling suddenly very small. And maybe a touch foolish. Mountains were big. And there were an awful lot of them around.

"Theoretically, the entrance should be within a few miles of where we are. The sources I reviewed weren't conclusive on the subject, but it is supposed to be inside one of the mountains. In a hidden cave, to be precise."

Natalya's eyebrows rose a fraction. "I'm glad you're so well-informed." She sighed and stepped away from the others, closing her eyes.

"Anything?" Artemis prompted.

Natalya hesitated, then shook her head. "Nothing. I don't even know what I'm trying to do. How did Opal find it?"

"I don't exactly know."

"Fantastic." She sighed again, more loudly this time. "Congratulations, Fowl, I feel ridiculous. Short. You minored in magic at college. Guide me."

Holly narrowed her eyes. "How do you know that?"

"Amber had most of Foaly's files. I've read yours. Now, are you going to help?"

Holly made a sound more or less approximating a growl. "Fine. But I've got no experience with dark magic. I don't see why I'll be any use at all."

Artemis touched her shoulder lightly. "Try," he said softly. "We need to find that entrance."

"Fine," the elf muttered again. "Magic is energy. Well, it's more complicated than that, but whatever. Think of it as energy. It leaves traces. Echoes, if you want. Fairies are often drawn to places that exhibit, or have known, serious magic. We don't fully understand, but we can kind of sense it. Sometimes we don't even know what we're feeling, it's just, _something_.

"Wherever the entrance is, it will have known magic. It was sealed by magic, and it was opened by magic - Opal's magic. It's possible that you might be able to sense an echo of that. Assuming that your magic is a similar frequency to her augmented magic, which Artemis reckons is likely. Right?"

Artemis nodded.

"Right. So concentrate on that frequency. Reach out with your mind. See if you can feel anything."

Natalya tried. She really did. She put aside all of her contempt for the kind of people that _reached out with their minds_ and she really tried to what Holly asked of her.

She shook her head. "Nothing. You sure this is the right place?"

"D'Arvit," Artemis swore. "Yes, I'm sure." He turned away, frustrated. They couldn't fail here. It wasn't acceptable. He closed his eyes. He had to think.

"Artemis. If I may?"

Artemis was taken aback. The gravelly tone was Butler's. He offered his manservant a smile. "Of course, old friend."

Butler made a weak attempt at returning the smile. "Holly said that fairies could sense echoes of magic, and that the entrance was sealed by magic. How come none of the researchers were drawn to the residue?"

Artemis frowned. "The warlocks must have somehow hidden the magical traces, presumably as part of the locking process. But if the entrance was already unlocked, and remains open…" He looked to Holly, excited. "It's possible those traces will be revealed. Shangri-La may no longer hidden. Natalya might not be able to track Opal's magic, but an experienced elf might be able to track the warlocks'."

Holly looked dubious. "It's possible. But it was a long time ago. And I'm not particularly experienced."

"Try it."

Holly did. And she was surprised to learn that it wasn't even hard. The warlocks' magic was strong and it had left equally strong ripples. The echoes of power were loud, and had been there since the four of them had touched down. All she had needed to do was open her mind and listen.

She reached out with her consciousness and was shown the way. It was as though she had known the answer all along. She smiled and pointed.

"That way."

Artemis looked slightly astonished. "Seriously?"

"Ye of little faith." Holly shook her head and started walking. "Come on, Mud Boys. And girl."

Artemis tried to exchange a look with Butler, but his bodyguard was already following the elf. _He is defaulting to soldier-mode,_ he realised. _For now, at least, the grief has robbed him of everything else._ Feeling guilty once again, he set off after them. He didn't bother trying to exchange anything with Natalya.

* * *

"This is it?" Artemis asked, reluctant to step into the cave. It had an undeniably sinister air to it.

"Seems so," said Holly, similarly hesitant. She had led them this far, but now it came down to it, she found she didn't really fancy continuing.

Natalya harboured no such doubts. She pushed past elf and boy and hopped into the mountain hollow, out of the cold at last. She made a movement with her hand and flames blossomed in her palm, coiling into a fireball. She held it high, the light dancing off the walls.

Butler, Artemis and Holly reluctantly followed her lead. The four of them looked around. A myriad of different paths presented themselves. They looked like they went deep.

"Which way?" asked Holly.

"Those are no ordinary tunnels," replied Artemis. "Even though Opal opened the entrance for us, we still need to navigate the labyrinth."

Butler made an unimpressed sound, and Holly nodded her agreement. Both were soldiers, and soldiers had little time for mazes.

"Legend had it," Artemis continued, apparently oblivious. "That the warlocks created an enchanted labyrinth to guard the dead city. Unless a traveller knew the exact route to take, they would get lost forever and eventually die."

"Sounds fun," muttered Holly, looking around again. Her gaze landed on Natalya, whose eyes were closed and whose face was twisted in concentration. She narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to?"

Natalya took a moment to realise she had been addressed. When she did, she smiled.

"Opal was here," she murmured. "Not long ago." Her eyes flashed open. "I know where to go."

She set off down one of the tunnels, the light of her flames growing steadily dimmer as she made her way further into the darkness. Holly looked at Artemis.

"Well?"

Artemis shrugged and took a couple of steps forward. "I suppose," he said. "We should follow."

Butler appeared at his shoulder, always dependable even in his current state, followed a moment later by Holly. The elf tapped a button on her helmet and twin beams of light filled the path ahead.

Side by side, the three of them followed the flickering orange light. It took some time to catch up to Natalya – the intricate network of tunnels seemed almost to go on forever – but eventually they reached her. The Russian girl was stood over a stone pedestal.

She nodded towards the far wall when she heard the others approach. "Beware," she read aloud. "The wrath of the Fallen."

"You can read Gnomish?"

Natalya nodded. "Naturally. I can speak every language."

Holly grumbled something about her not being worthy of the gift of tongues. Everyone ignored her.

"So this is it?" asked Butler.

Artemis stepped past Natalya. A glowing handprint stood out on top of the altar.

"This looks like some kind of locking mechanism," he observed. "So I would imagine that this is the right place."

Natalya pushed back past him and laid a hand on the outline. "Nothing ventured…" she muttered.

The altar responded immediately. Symbols lit up around the base, pulsing with magic. A moment later, the far wall began to melt away to nothing, revealing their path.

"It's already unlocked," explained Natalya. "All I had to do was open it."

Artemis and Holly stepped forward and looked into the passage. An ornate staircase, painstakingly carved out of the sheer rock and engraved with old Gnomish symbols, descended so deep into the darkness that even Holly's helmet beams couldn't banish the darkness. It went on and on and on and still they couldn't see the bottom. It looked like the path to Hell itself.

"Oh my," said Artemis, to his eternal shame. After all, _oh my_ is hardly the kind of thing a self-respecting criminal mastermind ought to be caught saying. Still, anyone faced with the same sight would have understood the comment. What else was there to say? _Big_ didn't really do it justice. Neither did _scary_. Even a combination wasn't remotely adequate.

"It's very…" Holly searched for the right words. They didn't seem to be presenting themselves. "Oh my."

Butler and Natalya appeared at their shoulders.

"I see what you mean," agreed the giant manservant.

Natalya didn't say anything, but a glance at her face told Artemis that even she wasn't unaffected by the sheer scale of the way forward. She took a cautious step onto the staircase, ever vigilant, as though she expected to spring a trap. But nothing happened.

She took another step. "I guess it's safe?" She didn't sound convinced. Artemis couldn't blame her.

"At least," he said. "This probably means that we're on the right track. I mean, where else could this possibly go?"

Holly muttered something that might have been _the underworld_ , but no one seemed to quite catch her words. It was probably for the best.

In the end, it was Artemis who was the first to start descending the steps. The other three followed, not bothering to hide their trepidation. It took more than an hour to reach the bottom. Artemis was shattered, but he didn't bother commenting on it. Everyone else was far too fit to be affected by the trek, and he didn't need the inevitable ribbing he would get from Holly.

As they neared their destination, the passageway began to widen, eventually growing large enough to accommodate the ornate archway that marked the entrance to the dead city itself. Artemis glanced at the others, then to the Gnomish inscribed over the gateway.

"Behold paradise," he read. Through the archway, desolate streets of roughly hewn cobbles stretched out, abandoned for thousands of years, lined on each side by ruined buildings. Darkness hovered above but couldn't quite dispel an eerie glow that seemed to cling to the architecture itself. It was like everything was in a state of perpetual twilight. "Not anymore."

Artemis took a few steps forward, crossing the threshold and giving himself his first look at the inside of the city. His breath caught. Because of its age, he had assumed that Shangri-La would have been a small settlement, clumsily carved out of the rock. Not so. Not at all. He was standing in a cavern of impossibly large proportions, miles high and wider still. Vast stone columns rose out up out of the city to meet the cavern's roof, like gigantic artificial stalactites.

"Wow," said Holly, appearing at his shoulder.

"Indeed." Artemis didn't normally approve of such colloquial language, but sometimes exceptions had to be made. Ordinary words couldn't describe what he was seeing. He walked forward, trying to take in the sheer scale the place. There was no denying it – he was completely awestruck. A rare state for Artemis Fowl.

"Careful," Holly called after him, but Artemis wasn't to be dissuaded. His curiosity was thoroughly piqued. After a minute or two, he reached a break in the buildings lining the street that he could use as a vantage point.

"Holly?" he called over his shoulder. "You better come and see this."

He could hear the elf grumbling as she approached. "I hate it when people say stuff like that. Just say whatever the thing is instead of-"

She trailed off as she caught sight of what Artemis was looking at. Shangri-La wasn't built on solid ground: it was suspended in the middle of the cavern, stretching from their side to the other, like a great inhabited bridge. The support columns reached hundreds of miles below them, eventually disappearing into coiling magma. The drop was impossibly sheer. The only things Holly had ever seen that resembled this were the magma chutes that the LEP used to ride hotshots to the surface.

"Frond," she breathed.

Artemis chuckled. "I'm glad none of us suffer from vertigo."

"Don't worry. I think I'm developing it." Holly shook her head. "Frond. How did they _build_ this place?"

"I can't even begin to imagine."

"So, where's the creature? This place is huge. We can't search everywhere."

Artemis thought about it. Holly was right; they couldn't search everywhere. Shangri-La wasn't just big in its horizontal dimensions – it was a tiered city. They had entered on the top level, but Artemis could see at least another level below them. They needed a strategy.

A shout ripped him from his thoughts.

" _Contact!"_

Butler's voice. It was followed by a frenzied scream. Artemis and Holly span around, Holly already with a weapon in her hand. Not that the neutrino would be any use against the Fallen. The elf ran hard, aiming straight at the source of the shout. She skidded around the corner at full speed, weapon up.

It took her a moment to process the scene before her. "Butler?" she asked, her voice soft. The manservant was standing amid a mess of body parts, hands covered in black blood, breathing hard. He looked angry. More than that, actually. He looked livid.

 _This_ , Holly realised with no small amount of fear, _is what a grieving Butler looks like in a fight._

Butler looked up at her, and his expression softened. "Formers," he explained. "But it's alright. I can handle them."

Holly nodded shakily. "Artemis?" she called, but the boy was already by her side.

Artemis took one look at the dismembered formers and grimaced. "I was hoping there wouldn't be any of those here. That complicates things. We need to regroup. Natalya?"

The Russian girl materialised out of a building ahead of them and headed towards them, but a pair of formers appeared on the rooftop behind her and dropped down. Artemis shouted a warning, but Natalya was already reacting, slipping into a combat stance and meeting her opponents head on.

The first creature swiped at her, but she caught its forearm and squeezed, crushing the bone. It yelped but she didn't let go, using her grip to swing it around and slam it into the second former. Both creatures stumbled back, and Natalya pressed her advantage.

She lashed out with a kick that caught one of the formers under the chin, shattering the base of its skull. The other one tried to rush at her, but she poured magic into her hand and punched straight through its chest. Feeling bone against her fingers, she closed her fist and wrenched. A chunk of the former's rib cage came free and it slumped to the ground, its screams finally petering out.

Dropping the section of rib cage, Natalya strode over to the other three. "Plan?" she asked casually, as though nothing at all had happened.

Artemis didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He just pointed. Shangri-La was seething as though alive, former fairies emerging from the ruins like survivors crawling from a wreckage. But there was something different about them to the former fairies that had attacked Holly and Artemis in Egypt. Their skin, horribly decayed, hung off their skeletons like rags.

 _These aren't Opal's slaves,_ Artemis realised. _These are the original residents of Shangri-La. Everlasting, held together by magic and hatred._

"I think we disturbed the hornet's nest," he said, a tad unnecessarily.

"Really?" said Holly. "I hadn't noticed." The elf glanced at Butler. "My neutrino is useless against these things. I need a weapon."

The manservant nodded and handed her a pair of vicious looking knives, and a spare pistol.

Holly shook her head at the gun. "Too big."

Butler gave it to her anyway. "Keep it on you," he said. "As a last resort."

Reluctantly, the elf took it, tucking it away in a pouch on her belt. She glanced at Natalya, and then at the twin swords strapped to the Russian girl's back. On second thoughts, maybe having a lethal ranged weapon would come in useful later on.

Artemis was scanning the ruined city, eyes hunting a solution. He felt Butler lay a huge hand on his shoulder.

"I don't trust the Russian," he said quietly.

"That makes two of us, old friend. But she wants Opal stopped just as much as we do."

"That may be. But what about after we defeat Opal?"

Artemis didn't respond. He didn't have anything to say to that.

"Just be careful, alright?" Butler told him. "Stick close to me. All I care about is getting the three of us out of here alive."

Artemis nodded. "I understand. Believe me, I have no intention of doing anything stupid."

"And Holly?"

Artemis smiled. Butler knew the elf well. "She gave me her word."

Butler gave Artemis's shoulder a slight squeeze, apparently satisfied, and joined his charge in surveying the dead city. The formers were starting to approach them now, but cautiously, with none their newer counterparts' shrieking zeal. They looked for all the world like a colony woken from a deep sleep, curious to see who had disturbed their slumber.

"What are you looking for, Artemis?"

"The answer," said Artemis simply. It took another moment or two, but then he pointed. "There. What does that look like to you?"

Butler followed the youth's finger. Built into the opposite side of the cavern from where they had entered was a massive structure that towered over the rest of the city. Torches cast a flickering orange glow over its entrance, and strange, luminous plants clung to the exterior. And it was crawling with formers.

"It looks like a temple," Butler admitted. "But it's different to the rest of the city. If I had to guess, I would say it was built later."

Artemis nodded. "Very good. And the creatures seem to have made themselves at home there. If the hivemind is anywhere here, it will be there."

Butler nodded. After all this time, he had learned to trust his charge's judgement.

"It's settled then. We kill the creature, and we get out alive. All of us."

They didn't have much time, but Artemis found a spare second to glance at his manservant. Butler sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything else.

 _He's not alright,_ Artemis reminded himself. _He may never be again. It's a miracle that he is even this together._

The boy offered a smile. "We will, old friend. We will."

"Artemis?" Holly's voice. No small amount of urgency. "We're about to have a whole lot of company. Ideas?"

Artemis pointed. "See the temple on the far side? That's where we're headed."

Holly narrowed her eyes in the indicated direction. There was no shortage of Fallen blocking their way.

"We'll need to clear a path. I'm not sure I like our chances."

"I'm not sure it matters whether you like our chances," Artemis countered. "That's where the hivemind is, I'm certain. We cross this city, or the world ends. No other choice."

Holly exhaled, mentally readying herself. "My favourite kind of choice," she muttered to herself, drawing the knives that Butler had given her.

Beside her, Natalya unsheathed one of her swords. "Stick close to Fowl," the Russian girl said to her. "Keep him alive. Don't take any unnecessary risks. I'll engage them and try and clear the way."

"Look at you, acting brave. It's almost like you care."

The Fallen were getting closer every moment. Natalya's eyes never left them. "Not really. You're fragile. I'm not. And if you get yourself killed, it will likely render Fowl useless, and I value his intellect. So, don't die."

She was already walking away before Holly could respond, flames flaring up in her free hand. The curious Fallen were about twenty metres away from them now.

"Fowl," Natalya called. "You ready?"

Artemis wasn't. Not even remotely. But he forced a nod. "Carve us a path."

Natalya hefted her sword. She smiled. Viciously.

"My pleasure."

* * *

 **A/N:** So this is it. We're here, in the dead city, with the stage set for the final battle. But don't worry. There's still a hell of a lot of heating up to do before things start cooling down. Five chapters of it, to be precise. So strap in ;)

And finally, if you're the one of the awesome folks who's stuck around in spite of my apparent inability to actually update my stories, you're always welcome to leave a review. Hearing from you guys is 90% of what makes uploading stories worthwhile.

-Kio


	22. Fallen

**A/N:** First, let me just say that I know it was a while ago, but I really want to say thank you for the support on the last story. I didn't get the chance to respond to any of the reviews – sorry! – but I really appreciate all the kind words. Anyway, here's the next chapter (finally), and at least it's a long one. It took me some time to get this to a point where I was happy with it. I don't think it's perfect, not by any stretch, but it's good enough, and I'm sick of reading it. On the other hand, there's some good stuff here that I'm genuinely pleased with. You can decide for yourself what you think :)

Oh and for those of you who keep telling me that you can't wait to see Natalya suffer, you might like this chapter. And the next ;)

-Kio

 **Chapter 22; Fallen**

 **Shangri-La**

Natalya ran straight at the horde, sword in one hand, fireball in the other. The Fallen bared their teeth. It occurred to her that there really were quite a lot of them. It would probably have been a good idea to come up with some kind of a plan before running head first into them.

 _Probably. Bit late now, though._

She let go of the fireball in her hand, sending it straight into the horde. Flames blossomed and danced forward, leaping between formers, devouring the tattered rags hanging from their haggard frames. The creatures screeched and tried to pull back, but already the flames were in among them, spreading fast.

Natalya didn't slow down, leaping straight into the inferno. She reached for the nearest former and crushed its throat. She punched another with enough force to cave its face in. Her sword flashed and claimed a third. She grinned, a demon surrounded by fire. Chaos was everywhere. Her element.

A former came for her, jumping out of the smoke, but she shouldered it into a burning comrade. Two more tried braving the heat; she kicked one away and cut the other clean in two.

The pain from the fire grew harder to ignore and she grimaced. Even as it burned, her skin was reforming, but constant healing drained her like nothing else. If she wasn't careful, she was going to end up disfigured – and what a shame that would be. She didn't want her pretty face getting all melty.

Ducking beneath the swipe of a former, she pushed forward, hunting a moment of respite. The smoke was thickening. She could barely see. Formers tried to block her way but she slashed and kicked, severing limbs and shattering bones. And then she was free, emerging from the smoke and the fire-

-right into another batch of Fallen. Already they were coming for her. Sucking in a breath of clean air, Natalya drew her second sword and stood her ground. She hacked and punched and kicked and danced between strikes, balancing on the edge of what she was capable of. Steel flashed. Bodies broke. And then she stood alone, surrounded by black blood and body parts.

Breathing heavily, she glanced up. The rest of the horde had her encircled. At least fifty sets of glowing eyes fixed on her. Unblinking. But they weren't moving yet. These creatures weren't fearless like the others – they had seen what she was capable of, and they were wary. It looked like they were running thin on volunteers to lead the charge against her.

 _Finally,_ she thought, _some luck_.

But her relief was short-lived. While she was grateful that they weren't tearing her apart – yet – she didn't see how she was meant to break through their ranks, and she doubted she could kill them all before they took her down. As the creatures waited, more formers were arriving at the scene, taking their places in the ring. The horde had to be almost a hundred strong, now, and still it was growing. It was only a matter of time before they were confident enough to strike.

At least she had the horde's attention. Most of it, at any rate. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Artemis and the others taking full advantage of the distraction she was providing, fighting past the stray formers towards the temple. Leaving her behind.

Natalya smiled bitterly and wiped her swords clean. She readied herself.

* * *

Artemis kept half an eye on Natalya as he set off with Holly and Butler. His personal feelings aside, there was no denying that she was extraordinary. The Russian girl leapt into her own inferno, dancing through flames with her sword flashing, killing. Always killing.

Holly nudged him as a gap in the horde opened up. "Come on."

Artemis increased his pace. Natalya was managing to draw most of the horde's attention, but he didn't know how long she could keep it up – it made sense to take advantage of the space while it lasted.

A couple of formers blocked their way, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Holly glanced at Butler, who nodded ever so slightly. Whatever was communicated was entirely lost on Artemis, but it seemed to be enough for the two old soldiers. Holly went left. Butler went right. The struggle was fast, and brutal, and then the way was clear.

Artemis hurried forward in their wake. Another former leapt at them but Butler snatched it from the air and crushed its skull. They kept moving. The sounds of Natalya's struggle grew fainter.

"Artemis?" called Holly as Butler dealt with another couple of formers. "What happens when we reach the temple?"

Artemis didn't stop moving. "Honestly? I don't know. We'll see."

"Somehow that doesn't fill me with confidence."

Artemis shrugged. "We've got enough explosives to bury this whole place. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Holly smiled a little. She did like explosions. "Just so long as we don't bury it with us still inside." She glanced back at Natalya. "Well, maybe with one of us still inside."

Artemis didn't reply, but he followed the elf's gaze. Natalya was still fighting, but something strange was happening around her. The entire horde was fixated on her, but none of them looked like they wanted to intervene.

Holly was noticing it too. "Huh," she said. "Looks like they're scared of her. That's new."

Artemis nodded absently, watching the horde completely encircle Natalya. "Indeed."

"I really don't see how she's going to get out of that." Holly shrugged. "Come on, let's go."

Artemis didn't move. Holly had a bad feeling she recognised the side of his thinking expression.

"Come _on_ , Artemis. She did her job. Now let's do ours. This is the best shot we'll get."

Artemis turned back to the temple. Holly was right, there certainly weren't as many formers between them and their destination as there had been. But there were still more than he would have liked. He glanced back at Natalya's predicament.

"They'll kill her."

Holly made a face. "Tragic."

"Indeed," said Artemis patiently. "And then they'll come back for us and we'll be trapped on the wrong side of them. Then we all die. Painfully."

"Ah. Now that _is_ tragic."

Artemis smiled. "Precisely."

"Hey," called Butler from up ahead. "Lovebirds. What are you chatting about? We're on a tight schedule here."

Artemis spotted a passage leading down to the lower levels of the city. He pointed. "Change of plan, old friend."

"What are you thinking?" asked Holly. "How do you want to save her?"

"You'll like it," Artemis told her. "We blow her up."

Holly grinned. She did like it.

* * *

Natalya was pacing. It wasn't accomplishing anything, but she preferred it to standing still, and that made it better than nothing. An emotion was hovering at the back of her mind. It resembled fear. Not good. Not good at all.

She glanced behind her, towards the temple, for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes. She still couldn't see Artemis or the others. Maybe they had switched up their route to avoid the remaining Fallen.

Or maybe they were dead.

She hoped not. As far as she could tell, they were still her best chance of survival. Maybe if they killed the hivemind, the Fallen would keel over and revert to being corpses.

Maybe. Hopefully. But maybe not. She was just speculating, really. It was probably more likely that the creatures would just revert to their primal nature and rip her apart immediately. But Natalya could be a glass half-full kind of a girl when it suited her, and she really didn't like the sound of the second option.

 _Faith in Artemis it is,_ she thought bitterly.

And what would she do if cutting off the snake's head did destroy its body as well? Get out of there before Holly Short could come back and kill her like she clearly planned to? Go back and kill them all? That was probably the smartest option. She doubted Short would ever leave her alone, and after all, they _had_ left her to die.

Natalya hesitated. She supposed she _could_ give them the benefit of the doubt for that. Perhaps Artemis had reached a similar conclusion to her – that the best way of helping her was to try and destroy the hivemind before the horde decided to kill her.

 _Yes,_ she said to herself, _perhaps_ _the people who hate you were really just trying to help when they left you to die. Alone. Sounds plausible._

Natalya shrugged. "You never know," she said to no one in particular. "Maybe I'm feeling generous today."

She raised her swords towards the horde encircling her. "And you," she shouted. " _Freaks._ Pretty sure I'm a dead girl. Who wants to join me?"

The horde growled as one. Natalya didn't flinch.

"Come on!" She spread her arms wide. "I'll kill every one of you undead bastards." There were some more growls, less enthusiastic this time, and a few shrieks, but no movement. "No one? Pathetic."

The horde didn't even respond this time. Natalya laughed and shook her head. "Look at me. Ranting at dead bodies. I really am well-adjusted."

She sighed. It had not been a good few days. And it would be a miracle if she was even alive to see tomorrow.

* * *

Shangri-La sprawled downwards just as messily as it sprawled horizontally. Ruined and desolate, the lower levels twisted around the vast supporting columns seemingly without direction or logic.

Holly hopped over a broken wall into what must once have been something like a garden.

"I just can't get my head around this place," she admitted. "It must be as big as Haven. Maybe bigger. And it's almost ten thousand years old."

Artemis spared her enough attention to nod his agreement. She was right – extraordinary didn't even begin to do their surroundings justice. How the People had built the place originally he couldn't begin to imagine. No doubt magic was involved, but he had yet to come across any kind of magic that might facilitate giant underground city construction – and atop a vast lake of lava, of all places.

He shook his head. Yes, it was a mystery. But as much as he liked solving mysteries, they had bigger problems. He heard his manservant catching them up.

"Butler? Are they following?"

"Doesn't look like it. Most of the creatures are focusing on the Russian or milling around the temple entrance. Whatever you're going to do, you should have space. At least, unless there are more of them down here."

"Would we ever be so lucky," muttered Holly.

Artemis ignored her, looking ahead of them. There was a dead body on the path not far from them. A part of him couldn't help but expect it to leap up at any moment, magically alive. Disappointed in himself, he raised his eyes from the corpse and scanned the surrounding city, running some quick calculations in his head.

"Natalya is…" he murmured, raising a finger. "About there."

Holly and Butler followed the finger with their eyes. It was pointing to the edge of a large cluster of dwellings coiled around a support column like a great spiral staircase of houses.

Holly shrugged. "Guess we better get a move on, then."

Their progress was quick as they headed forward, and they remained unharassed by the Fallen. They did pass a few more bodies, though. A distinct, uneasy tension hung between them. The death and suffering that clung to very air in Shangri-La was bad enough already, without the gruesome reminders that littered the streets. Holly even made the mistake of glancing in through the windows of the first house they passed. A family of skeletons had leered at her from the shadows. It wasn't a mistake she repeated.

They approached the base of the giant column. Ahead of Holly, Artemis and Butler suddenly paused.

"Problem?" the elf asked.

Artemis shrugged. "See for yourself."

Holly frowned, and took a few steps forward. She came to just as sudden a halt as the others. The road simply stopped. It was just their luck, really. A good five meters of void separated them from their destination. Holly looked down, through the hole. Miles below them, magma coiled. She tapped a stone with her foot and watched the abyss consume it.

"Ah."

Artemis couldn't resist smirking ever so slightly. "Quite."

Holly didn't return the smile. "I would punch you, Mud Boy, but knowing you, you'd probably manage to fall in. And then what would I do?"

"Suffer intolerably, no doubt," replied Artemis, unfazed. He nodded to the crumbling house to their right. All the entrances were blocked by rubble. "Butler, can you give me a leg up to the roof? I think up and over is our best way around."

Holly snorted before Butler could respond. "I don't think so. You aren't going anywhere before us. You'll get yourself killed. Mark my words."

Artemis rolled his eyes. "Very well. Butler, please give Holly a leg up so she can _verify_ that's it safe."

Butler kept his face straight. "Naturally."

The massive bodyguard went to stand by the house's exterior wall. He reached out a pair of shovel sized hands towards Holly.

The elf sighed. "This would have been so much easier with a pair of wings," she muttered. She put a foot on each of Butler's palms, making sure she was secure. She bent her knees. "OK, big man. Up we go."

Butler pushed upwards, effortlessly lifting her, and Holly leapt up, timing her jump with the manservant's boost. For a split-second, she was airborne, then her fingers curled around the lip of the roof. She took a breath and started to pull herself up. Once both forearms were over the threshold, she glanced up.

A pair of yellow eyes were waiting for her.

* * *

Natalya stopped pacing. The horde was parting, revealing a creature like nothing she had ever seen before. It wandered towards her, heavy footsteps echoing through the ruins. At least twelve feet tall, it towered above the Fallen. Massive tusks jutted out from its lower skull. Unnaturally long arms dragged behind it, adorned with claws. Slit, yellow eyes burned bright in the gloom.

And then it roared, like thunder from Hell itself.

"And you're their champion?" she called, refusing to allow herself to be intimidated. "A shame. I _was_ hoping for a challenge."

The horde shrieked as one. The creature started stumbling towards her. It wasn't hard to work out what it was.

"You're a troll, aren't you? Or you used to be. Now you're one of them."

The creature didn't respond. It just lumbered forward clumsily, massive and stupid and terrifying. Once it was inside the ring of formers, the horde shifted again, sealing up the gap it had entered through.

"I've never met a troll before," Natalya admitted. "Which means I've never killed one." She winked. "But I'm always up for trying new things."

The former troll growled, deep and guttural, and sniffed the air. It fixed its eyes on Natalya, and began to circle. The Russian girl followed suit. All around her, the horde was still, and deadly silent. Waiting.

Natalya considered her options. Maybe if she killed the troll, the horde would back down. That would be nice. That would be a turn of luck. It wouldn't happen, of course. She didn't get lucky. No, if she killed the troll, the horde would descend on her. Maybe it would descend on her if she just got close to killing the troll. Which, all things considered, wouldn't be ideal.

But then again, if she didn't kill the troll, the troll would kill her. Which also wasn't ideal.

"Well," she said aloud. "Now I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I want to kill you as quickly and violently as possible. On the other hand, I don't think that's really in my best interests." She sighed wistfully. "A real dilemma. What do you think?"

The troll grunted.

Natalya's smile was wicked. "Now that you mention it, I think you're right. Killing you _would_ be the fun option."

* * *

Artemis watched in horror as mottled hands grabbed Holly and tossed her from the roof. The elf soared past his outstretched fingers and hit the ground hard, rolled, and disappeared over the edge into the abyss.

" _Holly!_ "

Artemis made to run forward, but another former leapt down from the rooftops, landing between him and the rift. He froze. Behind him, he was dimly aware of the sounds of a struggle, presumably as Butler dealt with more formers. He tried his best to look past the former blocking his path, hoping to see fingers clinging desperately to the edge of the cobbles. But there was nothing. If Holly had managed to grab hold of something, it wasn't visible.

The former growled. Artemis growled back, intellect giving way to baser instincts. Love, after all, had little room for reason or personal safety. He clenched his fists and stepped forward, ready to fight.

He never got the chance. The former was as quick as the rest of them, grabbing Artemis before he could swing his punch and casting him aside. Boy met stone with a brutal thud. Pain was immediate. Eyes watering, Artemis made to pull himself to his feet, but the former slammed into him, sending him to ground once again.

Resisting the urge to cry out, Artemis forced his eyes open, hunting for his attacker. He registered a hand swiping at his face and rolled, just barely avoiding the former's claws. Guessing wildly, he kicked in the direction the hand had come from, and was rewarded with a satisfying crack.

A shriek followed, but Artemis ignored it. He tried making a mental list of things that hurt, but quickly gave up when he realised how long it was going to be. All he could do was push the pain to one side. It could be dealt with later. All that mattered was Holly. Gritting his teeth, he hauled himself up. His stance may have been shaky, but he was upright, and that was something.

A few metres away, the former was picking itself up too. It caught sight of him and snarled, but Artemis wasn't discouraged. He had a measure of his opponent now. Standing his ground, he reached out a hand, pulling free a loose chunk of stone from the nearest house. It felt good in his hand. Weighty.

The former rushed him. Artemis didn't flinch. All he had to do was time his swing correctly. Like cricket, or baseball. Granted, he hadn't ever played either of those sports, and would probably have been dreadful if he had. Also, if he missed, he would likely die, and so would Holly. Assuming she wasn't already.

 _Probably best not to think about any of that_.

The former was about to reach him. Aiming for its forehead, Artemis swung with whatever force he could still muster. He missed, catching the edge of the creature's chin instead, but it was good enough, and a damn sight better than he was expecting. Bone shattered. Blood erupted from the wound. The former stumbled backwards, stupidly gesturing at thin air as its cursed life deserted it, and then it collapsed. Artemis looked at it, lying there in the road, pitiful and broken. The lower half of its face was missing. He dropped the rock, now covered in black blood, and smiled slightly to himself.

"Home run," he muttered. Then he remembered Holly, and ran to the edge of the road. She had to have caught hold of something. She had to have done. This was Holly Short, after all. It would take more than a fall to make someone like her give up. She was the kind of person who could survive fatal wounds through sheer stubbornness.

Sure enough, the elf was clinging on for dear life. The road was thick – at least half a metre – and mounted on what looked like a metal lattice, connected to stone supports on each sides. Holly had lost her helmet in the tumble, but had just barely managed to hook the tips of her fingers over the metal beam directly beneath the edge Artemis was stood on. It was already buckled and twisted; by the looks of things, it was a miracle it had supported her weight this long. Seeing her alive, Artemis couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief, though the danger was hardly over.

" _Artemis_ ," the elf screamed, eyes wide. " _Help me!_ "

Artemis crouched down by the edge, trying frantically to think, without much luck. Relief was already starting to give way to panic. He didn't see an easy way to hoist the elf back up himself, and he didn't have anything as useful as a rope to give her to hold.

And then something shrieked behind him. He spun. The first thing he saw was Butler in the background, surrounded by the bodies of already defeated enemies, struggling with a last few formers. Then he registered the former fairy sprinting straight at him.

His body moved before conscious thought had time to set in, diving to the side. He felt the creature brush against his legs as it went careering into the void. He heard Holly scream as it fell past her, narrowly missing colliding with her and sending them both into the fiery abyss.

Sucking in breaths, Artemis glanced down. The former's shrieks had long since faded by the time the sheer heat of the magma set it alight. He switched his attention back to Holly. One of the elf's hands had lost its grip on the beam when the former had almost hit her, and the other looked like it was about to follow suit.

" _Artemis!_ "

The truth hit Artemis hard. She was going to fall. Not maybe. Not later. Now. He didn't have time to come up with a solution. He had to act or she was dead. He dropped, lying down on the cobbles, getting as low as he could. He reached out a hand. Steps echoed off the road behind him, but he ignored them. They didn't matter. Nothing else mattered now.

"Take it!"

Holly grimaced. With the last of her strength, she swung her free hand upwards as her other arm finally gave in. Artemis wrapped his fingers around her wrist and she wrapped hers around his. His heart fluttered, thinking that maybe she might live after all, but then she lost her grip on the metal beam and he was the only thing stopping her falling. His arm jolted painfully as it registered the elf's full weight and then he was slipping. He gestured frantically with his free hand, desperate for something – anything – to grab onto, but there was nothing, and then he ran out of road and there was nothing beneath him but Holly and lava and death and-

-and then something caught his free hand and they came to sudden halt, Artemis suspended just over lip of the road, Holly hanging from his arm, swinging in the void like a marionette in a thunderstorm. Artemis looked up, looked at Butler's massive form towering above them. The manservant grunted and hoisted him upwards. Once Artemis was safe, Butler grabbed Holly, pulling her back over the threshold too.

Finally back on solid ground, Holly collapsed, overcome by exhaustion and relief. Artemis joined her and the two lay there on their backs, side by side, breathing hard.

"You two," muttered Butler. "Have a truly unparalleled ability to almost get yourselves killed. I swear it ages me just being around you."

"Hey," protested Artemis. "It's not my fault. She's heavier than I thought she would be."

Holly made a dangerous sound. "Artemis. If you _ever_ try and blame us almost dying on my weight again, I will drag you back to this godforsaken hellhole and throw you down that pit myself. Do you understand?"

Artemis glanced at her, saw the steel in her eyes, and wilted. Various retorts retreated back down his throat. "I'm sorry. Although I really didn't mean it like that. I just meant… well, you know, that I can't hold onto you forever. Just in case you're thinking of pulling another stunt like that."

Holly pulled herself to her feet and dusted herself off. "Firstly, that was _not_ my fault. Secondly, if _you_ can't lift me, why don't why don't _you_ try going to a gym?"

"Exercise doesn't agree with me," mumbled Artemis.

"Wow, a real revelation," Holly shot back, but her heart was no longer in it. She was too relieved at being alive to stay mad at Artemis, and she knew she wasn't really being fair. "So, are we saving the psycho girl or not?"

Artemis was helped to his feet by Butler. "That's the plan." He glanced at the bodies Butler had left strewn about, then at the roof that Holly had been attempting to climb. "Shall we try that climb again?"

* * *

The Fallen troll charged. Natalya drew her swords and broke into a run. When she was about to collide with the troll, she slipped to the ground, sliding beneath its legs. The moment she was clear, she was back on her feet, smiling to herself.

 _Too easy_.

She made to strike, but the troll was faster than she would have thought possible, lashing out blindly behind it with a clawed fist. The devastating blow caught Natalya squarely in the chest, lifted her into the air and sent her crashing to the ground.

 _Or not._

There was a series of audible cracks as Natalya's ribs reassembled themselves. She winced, pulling herself to her feet. Her torso was a mess of cuts, and her top was torn and bloody.

And now the troll was charging again.

Natalya rolled, inhuman speed the only thing saving her from being impaled on the troll's massive tusks. She spat a curse and danced away from another swipe of the troll's claws, fighting to put some space between her and her adversary without getting too close to the horde of formers surrounding them both. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped.

The troll lumbered towards her and raised its giant fists, aiming to crush her, but she sidestepped, letting the blows slam into the cobbles. Stone cracked. The street shook. Roaring, the troll tried again, but Natalya was starting to get a measure of it now, and she wasn't keen on getting hit again. She wasn't sure how many more blows like that she could survive.

Growling its frustration, the troll stomped its feet and tried another charge, but Natalya easily dived out of the way. It reached out for a clumsy grab, but the Russian girl was already out of reach.

Natalya grinned, gripping her swords. "Come and have a go," she taunted. "If you think you're hard enough."

No charge this time. Maybe the troll was learning. Instead, it stumbled forward more carefully, wary of Natalya's nimble footwork. Once she was within range, it swung a hand in a rapid, horizontal arc, hoping to catch her with its claws as it had at the start of the fight.

No such luck. Natalya stood her ground until the last possible moment, then ducked under the swipe. In the heartbeat it took the troll to recover from its failed attack, she fired a brutal kick into what looked like a knee. Something cracked and troll staggered back, howling.

Ever merciless, Natalya was already following up, burying one sword in the now injured leg, and the other in the troll's torso. At least, that's what she was aiming for. But troll skin is tough, and though she managed to pierce the leg, her second strike bounced uselessly of the creature's chest.

She almost realised her mistake in time to compensate. Almost. But almost isn't enough in a fight to the death, and a colossal fist smashed into her side, sending her skidding across the makeshift arena. Magic was the only thing that stood between her and instant death. Pain exploded in her mind, instantly reducing reality to background noise.

A pitiful heap on the cobbles, Natalya screamed, clutching what used to be her shoulder. There were tears in her eyes. She couldn't stand. She couldn't even see. The pain was exquisite. The horde shrieked its glee, but she couldn't hear, couldn't summon the will to remember that anything existed beyond pain.

Sobbing, she reached desperately for her magic, craving a reprieve from the pain that she was so unused to being subject to. But this was no simple matter of a few broken bones; her entire shoulder was demolished, and more besides. Shards of bone poked out of the mess of blood and pulp that used to be flesh.

A single thought cut through the pain, tugging her back towards reality. The troll. It would be coming for her. To finish her. That wasn't acceptable. She'd flirted with death at New Dawn, and decided that it wasn't for her. She had come too far to die here, alone in this unholy city, at the hands of an abomination.

Whimpering, Natalya forced her head up from the ground and opened her eyes. A dark shape was lumbering towards her, blurred by her tears. She realised had lost her other sword when she had been hit. She needed to do something immediately or she was dead.

An echo of magic called to her. Her powers were finally starting to recover from the herculean effort of keeping her vital organs mostly intact when the troll had struck her. Her entire body screamed out for her to use the spark of magic to dull the pain, just for a moment, but she resisted, tyrant in her own mind.

As the troll grew nearer, she summoned the spark into the hand of her still usable arm and ignited it. She didn't have the strength to throw fireballs, not yet, but maybe a fistful of flames would be enough to make the troll at least think twice about coming any nearer.

Sure enough, when she waved the flames at the troll it stopped advancing, growling at the hated fire. Indescribably grateful for the eventual turn of luck, Natalya forced herself shakily to her feet. She swayed slightly, only just managing to remain upright. But already the effort was costing too much concentration, and she had allowed the fire in her palm to go out.

Blinking to clear her vision, Natalya tried to take stock her situation. The troll was advancing again, but it was limping, and she could tell that it was hurt badly. Her sword protruded from its leg, and the surrounding fur was matted with black blood. A glance at the troll's eyes made it clear that it was in extraordinary pain. Maybe even as much as she was.

 _Good_.

She sharpened her focus, calling forth what magic she could. She allowed her battered body to siphon off a few sparks to dampen the pain – just enough to keep her sane – and poured the rest into her palm, igniting them once again. Flames coiled into a sphere, sucking in oxygen to feed their growth.

"Eat this, freak," Natalya spat, sending the fireball right into the troll's chest. The flames didn't catch, but they sent the troll staggering back, bellowing its rage. Natalya smiled. Black sparks danced along her ruined arm, beginning to heal the damage.

The troll stomped its feet and made to run at her, but with its injured leg, a pathetic stumble was all it could manage. Natalya laughed and sent another fireball its way. This time the troll wasn't so lucky, and the fire took hold in its matted fur. It bellowed again, this time at a higher pitch, and tried to beat out the flames, succeeding only in clawing open its own flesh. It howled and stumbled backwards, stupid and scared.

The horde wasn't screaming anymore. The formers looked agitated, as though unhappy that Natalya was rewriting their script. The troll tried to back away, but reached the ring of formers, and was pushed back into the area.

Natalya advanced. Trapped and hurt and about to die, the troll made a pathetic swipe at her, but it was slow and weak and predictable and she didn't even have to think to avoid it. Taking her time, the Russian girl poured all the magic she could muster into her hand and slammed a fist that could shatter stone into the troll's chest. Bone caved, and the troll collapsed.

Natalya turned, scanning the makeshift arena for her other sword, the one she had lost hold of when the troll had hit her the second time. There. She reached out her good hand, focused her magic, and the sword flew into it. Smiling, she hefted the blade. It felt good in her hand. Reassuring. There wasn't a creature on earth that could best her when she had a good sword.

She turned her attention back to the troll. It lay there, pitiful, making a sound not dissimilar from a whimper. She could leave it there. It wasn't a threat to anyone anymore. But that wasn't the way she operated. Instead, she grabbed one of the creature's tusks, holding its head in place, and placed her sword underneath its chin.

The troll froze, finally giving up its struggle, as though aware of what was about to happen. Not that Natalya cared. She rammed the sword forward, the softer skin of troll's throat easily giving way to the metal. The troll convulsed, and Natalya twisted the blade, noting with satisfaction the pain registering in the creature's eyes. It spasmed again, more weakly this time, and then its life was gone, spent. The fight was over.

Natalya ripped her sword free and turned to the horde of formers. She still couldn't use her right arm, but her magic had at least managed drive the pain back to the point where it was tolerable. And even with one arm, she was still one of the most dangerous people on the planet.

"So, what are you waiting for?" she asked the horde. "You aren't still scared of me, are you? It's not like I'm immortal." She showed them all her ruined shoulder. "See? I'm vulnerable."

A pair of formers broke ranks, approaching her warily. She smiled and stood her ground. The first former leapt at her. She cut it in two. The second swiped high and she ducked, kicked its leg, followed up by taking its head.

A footstep behind. She spun. Two more creatures coming for her. One was easily dealt with, but the other was fast, and managed to land a glancing blow on her injured shoulder.

It wasn't hard. But it was enough.

Natalya cried out and staggered back, making space, sword up to fend off further attacks. It was all the invitation the rest of the horde needed – not only could she be hurt by the troll, she could also be hurt by _them_. At least ten formers ran forward immediately, and Natalya did the only thing she could: she took the fight to them.

Her sword flashed. Two dead, then a third. A fourth swiped at her but she dodged, firing an elbow into its chin without looking back. A fifth lost its head. A vicious kick took another out of action. But already more were getting involved, and Natalya was running out of space. She whirled, killing anything in range, but they were closing in. This wasn't sustainable. She was going to be overwhelmed.

Natalya dropped her remaining sword, freeing up her hand. Flames flared and she hurled the fireball at the nearest target. Three formers went down, and already there was fire in her palm again. A pair of formers came for her but she swiped at them with a fistful of flames and they leapt back, snarling.

Natalya made to turn and repeat, but something crashed into her from behind, sending her staggering. She lashed out behind her with a blind kick and shattered a former's leg. Something moved next to her and slammed her burning fist into another former, but then fingers clawed at her ruined shoulder and she screamed, made to retaliate, but another former was holding her leg. She tried to pull it free but had to duck a swipe at her throat.

The pain in her shoulder intensified as the former increased its pressure and Natalya screamed again, turned it into a growl part way through, and reached out her good hand. She crushed the creature's throat and the pressure on her shoulder eased up – thank God – but then a fist slammed into the side of her head. She spat a curse but another former collided with her before she could react, sending her stumbling once again.

Hands grabbed her and threw her to the ground. She made to scramble up, but caught a kick with her stomach, staggered, and was grabbed again. The former in question headbutted her and she cried out, lights exploding in her eyes. Something else hit her and she went down. Fists and feet reigned down. Hands clawed, tearing what skin wasn't covered by her clothes. A kick caught her injured shoulder. The pain was excruciating.

Natalya tried curling into a ball, tried absorbing the blows, but she couldn't even move. Her magic was spent. What little energy she had left was rapidly running out. Everything hurt, and still the creatures kept attacking. She closed her eyes, and reality melted away. She could almost hear her last seconds ticking away.

Tick.

Tock.

And then the world erupted in fire.

* * *

 **A/N:** Not so invulnerable now, are we Natalya? Still, she's pretty impressive. Until now, Butler was the only person to take on a troll in single combat and win. But even the most powerful among us can be overwhelmed. Will she survive the Fallen and Artemis's "rescue"? Is he even aiming to help her? Or will our heroes be left to face Opal alone?

In the meantime, you might as well leave a review. I'll try and actually respond to some of you this time. Unless you don't want me to. Which is understandable. I'm not sure I'd want to receive a message from someone like me, either.

-Kio


	23. Clairvoyant

**A/N:** Hello there. It's, err, been a while. A long while. Sorry. My motivation to write completely abandoned me for a few months. I hope I'm through the worst of it, but you never really know with these things. Anyway, I'm managing to at least get this chapter up, so I suppose there's that.

It's kind of unfortunate really that this is the chapter I delayed so much, because it really doesn't work very well on its own. It's complicated and abstract and very much the spiritual successor to the chapter before. I strongly recommend refreshing your memory of what has just happened before reading this.

If you can't be bothered with that, basically: Artemis and co. are trying to reach the temple on the other side of Shangri-La. Natalya gets separated from the others while fighting the Fallen and ends up killing an infected troll before being overwhelmed. Artemis decides to "rescue" her, ostensibly by blowing her up from below. We pick up immediately after the detonation.

As I mentioned above, the first part of this chapter is a little strange and open to interpretation. Stick with it, see what you make of it. See what you think it's trying to say. And if you don't like it, don't worry, the second half is normal.

Oh, and for anyone wondering, the cover image for this story is meant to be the temple entrance in Shangri-La, which we're finally going to make it to this chapter :)

-Kio

* * *

 **Chapter 23; Clairvoyant**

 **Shangri-La**

The thunder of explosions filled the dead city. Through closed eyes Natalya saw the glow of flames, too tired to cry out as they attacked her skin. And then she felt herself falling, away from the inferno, into cool air. The shrieks of falling formers surrounded her, and then she hit something hard and rolled until she came to a stop. Her body shook as debris slammed into the ground around her.

Eyes still closed, Natalya lay there. She was dimly aware of the familiar sound of a struggle, but already it was fading. Her battered body was giving in. Even the pain was beginning to dull.

She thought briefly about Opal. The pixie was still out there somewhere, but her army wouldn't last long. That was some solace. Artemis and Holly would destroy the parasite's hive mind, even if it cost them their lives.

She hoped it didn't, though. She needed at least one of them to survive. They were the only ones who knew the truth. The only ones who could tell Opal who it was that had really murdered her future self. The only ones who could complete her revenge.

And then she let go, and the darkness claimed her.

* * *

Natalya sat up. A velvet blackness surrounded her, so thick it was as if the air itself was absorbing the light. She stood and was surprised to find that she was no longer in pain.

Hand out in front, she took a few steps forward. She squinted, seeing what she could make out, and the darkness seemed to recede. A shape was just visible ahead of her. Curious, she walked towards it, realising it was an archway.

Natalya stepped through the arch and into the living room of a house she didn't recognise. She glanced back the way she had come but saw only another room of the house. Shaking her head, she turned back and took in her surroundings. Night had settled outside, and snow fluttered past the window. A tattered sofa dominated the space inside, and a fire crackled merrily in the grate.

Natalya frowned, looked closer at the fire. Something wasn't right. The fire was growing, the flames dancing higher and higher until it wasn't a fire anymore but an inferno, barely constrained in the little grate. Flames coiled angrily around each other, forming unnatural shapes.

Then the fireplace couldn't contain them anymore and they broke free, leaping out into the room. Natalya backed away, unsure what to do. The entire mantlepiece was ablaze, and the flames still weren't slowing down.

Someone called a name. Natalya turned and saw a man she didn't recognise coming towards her. He looked right at her and repeated the name. Anger was flaring up in his face. Natalya frowned and he hit her – hard – and she staggered, tasting blood.

Rage flashed. Natalya growled and reached out a hand to crush the man's throat, but the growl came out as a cry for help, and the hand she raised was small, like a child's. The man grabbed her and she struggled, but he was a lot stronger than she was and try as she might, she couldn't break free.

"Was this you?" he demanded in Russian, nodding towards the fire consuming his living room.

Natalya narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to threaten him, to tell him all the brutal ways she would hurt him if he didn't let go of her immediately, but the only thing that came out was a sob. She called her magic but nothing came. No fire, no lightning, no superhuman strength. The power she was so used to wielding – her inner fire, her shadow – was gone, replaced by submission.

The man loosened his grip on Natalya, drawing one hand back to hit her again, but she used the reprieve to twist free of his grip and run. She heard him shout after her, shout that same name, the name she didn't know, and then heard his footsteps as he came after her.

Natalya ran hard, not bothering to look back. She didn't know where she was going but knew she had to keep moving, bouncing off doorways and crashing past furniture. She felt the man getting nearer and ducked into a room on her left, heard him curse and struggle to match her sudden change of direction. She didn't slow down, desperate to put some distance between the two of them. She went left, then right, then left again. The house just kept going, as though growing to accommodate her need to escape.

She came to a long corridor lined with doors and risked a glance behind. The man chasing her was nowhere to be seen. Slowing her pace, she chose a door at random and stepped through into a bedroom. A woman's body lay on the bed, bloody and broken. Natalya took a wary step closer. The blood was still fresh. She had been beaten to death, and recently. It looked like the product of rage. Natalya stepped forward again, looking at the woman's face. It seemed familiar, almost like her own but older, and too battered to be recognisable.

Footsteps behind her. Natalya spun and found herself facing the man that had been chasing her before, and he didn't look any happier than he had then. His eyes flicked to the body Natalya had discovered. For a moment, there was a hint of shame behind his eyes, but then it was gone, replaced by a blazing fury.

"I'll kill you," he breathed, his face ugly with hatred.

Natalya bolted, again crashing wildly through the house, searching frantically for a way out of this strange maze. After another minute of running, she found herself in a hallway. She looked left and right, hoping for a front door. There! She ran for it, the man right behind her, and flung it open, leaping out into the night.

Except the doorway didn't lead outside. Instead, she found herself tumbling down a rough stone staircase, landing in a painful heap. She scrambled up, ignoring the pain, and started running again. She was in a stone passage, rough and narrow and dimly lit, with jagged rocks jutting from the walls and ceiling. The passage widened as she ran, and then the walls weren't stone anymore but lined with blackened cages full of charred bodies.

Natalya ran on. The passage split off in various directions, a labyrinth of tunnels. She took a random left. Double doors blocked her way and she crashed through them, stumbling into an operating theatre. Bright light attacked her retinas and she blinked, raising a hand to shield her eyes. Slowing down, she walked to the table at the centre of the operating theatre. Her own face, gaunt and scared, looked up at her from the operating table.

Sudden pain coursed through her, lightning in her veins, and she screamed and fell. The pain intensified and she screamed and screamed until she had no air left in her lungs, left to writhe in silent agony. Voices shouted at her from deep inside her own mind and she responded in kind, shouting and crying and begging within the confines of her own head.

Natalya didn't know how long she lay there, her body contorted in unimaginable agony. She had no way to track the passing of time. It could have been days. It could have been months, or even years. But eventually, the pain began to fade, along with the voices in her head.

At last, Natalya lifted her head from the ground. She felt different. Something had changed, something within her. She realised that she wasn't the same person anymore. Weakness had been replaced with strength. Resolve.

The operating theatre was dark and silent. Natalya pulled herself to her feet and checked the operating table. It was empty. She turned away and walked back in the direction she had come from, all those years ago, before the pain.

Out in the stone passage, there was blood on the walls. Bodies littered the floor – men in body armour – broken and in pieces. Weapons lay here and there among dead.

"I know where I am," Natalya said aloud. "I know who did this."

And she did. She looked down at her own hands, clean and unmarked, and remembered what they had looked like drenched in red. She carried on walking, stepping past the bodies, feeling no more sympathy for the dead now than when she had killed them originally.

Natalya passed a laboratory and glanced in. The reinforced door had been torn from its hinges. Smashed equipment and bits of elves in white coats floated between puddles of red. She didn't bother investigating further. She knew what she would find.

She turned her attention back to the path ahead of her and saw Opal Koboi watching her.

"You are mine," Opal said, but the pixie's lips didn't move. Instead, the words came from inside Natalya's own mind. "I own you."

"No. Not anymore. One day, I'm going to kill you." Natalya smiled, knowing it was true. After all, it had already happened.

Opal smiled back, showing jagged teeth, and then her face was changing, contorting, becoming the head of a dragon, and her body followed. The dragon roared, spewing flames at Natalya and the Russian girl ran, ran hard, the inferno chasing her, devouring everything in its path.

The heat intensified and Natalya spat a curse. The fire was gaining on her. She ran even harder, putting everything she had into the sprint. And then, out of nowhere, Opal was running beside her, a pixie again, desperately fleeing the fire that was consuming everything she had built.

Fleeing the fire that she herself had started.

Natalya felt that same fire deep inside her, right where Opal had lit it all those years ago, still burning bright. She let it fuel her, give her strength, and accelerated even harder, just barely managing to stay ahead of the raging firestorm.

The passage widened, and in the distance, shafts of daylight began to cut through the gloom. Natalya and Opal kept running, their bodies screaming out at them for a reprieve. Just when it seemed like they couldn't stay ahead of the flames any more, they burst out into the daylight, leaping out of the opening-

-and into open air. Opal grabbed hold of Natalya as they fell, clutching the Russian girl as tightly as she could, as if it would save her from the fall. Natalya twisted her head and looked at Opal. The pixie's eyes were wide, and fear was etched deep. Behind Opal, rock faces rushed by them at impossible speeds. It seemed that they had leapt from the side of a mountain.

Natalya looked down. She tensed as the ground rushed up to meet them. But the closer it got, the less they were falling vertically, and the more they were moving horizontally, their speed unchanged. And then they weren't falling at all but flying, soaring through the mountains. Natalya looked at Opal and realised it was the pixie that was responsible. Opal steered her way purposefully between the snowy peaks as Natalya held on for dear life.

And then Natalya realised that she recognised where they were. They were flying through the Himalayas. She looked down. An army of formers crawled over the mountains beneath them. And somehow, impossibly, she knew that what she was looking at was real.

Opal spun her around so they were looking each other in the eye. The pixie smiled viciously.

"I'm coming, Artemis Fowl," she said.

* * *

Natalya opened her eyes. She groaned. Everything hurt. Muffled voices wormed their way into her head, and she focused, trying to pick out individual words. Something about someone being alive. Her, presumably.

Summoning her strength, she lifted her head. The first thing she saw was Holly Short, sat opposite where she was lying. The elf looked disappointed. No surprises there. But then again, she hadn't killed Natalya while she was unconscious, and that was something.

 _Artemis still has his pet on a leash. He wants me alive._

Natalya tried pushing herself up into a seating position but quickly gave up, wincing in pain. She locked eyes with Holly.

"Magic," she croaked. It was all she could manage.

Holly smiled, and Natalya knew what she was going to say before she even had a chance to open her mouth.

"I don't have any. Sorry." The elf didn't sound it. "I haven't had a chance to complete the ritual since I was infected."

Natalya didn't reply. She just forced herself up, still only able to use one hand, grimacing in pain. It took most of thirty seconds, and it exhausted her, but she made it into a seating position. She sucked in heavy breaths, using a chunk of debris to support her back.

"Wow," said Holly. "You really are a mess."

Natalya looked down at herself. Holly was right – she _was_ a mess. The figure-hugging black combat gear she always wore was shredded, and her exposed skin was a mess of cuts and burns. She pulled off and discarded what was left of her gear so her skin could breathe, gritting her teeth as the material dragged across her injuries. She was so used to being protected by her armoured clothes that she felt oddly naked without them, but they were no use to her in pieces. At least the tank top and leggings she had on underneath had managed to stay more or less intact.

Natalya shrugged like none of this was a big deal. "It's fine. My magic will kick in soon enough. Besides, we have bigger problems." She looked around for Artemis. He was sat behind her, watching her curiously. "Whatever plans you've made, Mud Boy, unmake them."

Artemis frowned. "Why?"

"Opal is on her way with what remains of her army."

Holly looked up sharply. "What? How can you know that?"

Natalya shrugged again, pulling herself painfully to her feet. "I don't know. Maybe it's because she spent so long in my head. Maybe it's because our magic is the same frequency. I don't know, I can just… I can feel her coming. She's not far away."

Artemis got up and started pacing. "Why? Why is she coming?"

"She knows that you're here. I don't know how, but she knows. She's coming for you, and she isn't happy."

"This… this complicates things. Significantly." Artemis paused to think. "You can sense her coming. Does that mean she can sense you here as well?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I don't really understand whatever connection exists between me and Opal, but I don't think she can sense me. I don't think she even knows I exist."

"Good. If she doesn't know you exist, she won't expect you to be with us. You will be our ace in the hole." Artemis glanced at Holly. "I suppose it's a good thing we saved you after all."

Natalya's eyebrows shot up, a rare sign of emotion. "Excuse me? You abandoned me, then blew me up – assuming the explosion _was_ you?"

Artemis's expression was cold. "You mean the explosion that saved your life? The one that we used to extract you from a situation that would inevitably have ended in your death?"

Natalya looked up at the destruction above them. Artemis and Holly had managed to collapse an entire street. All around them were vast heaps of rubble and bits of formers.

"Oh, of course! _That's_ what you were doing. _Extracting_ me. _Rescuing_ me. How silly of me for not realising sooner. I must have been thrown off by your unconventional rescue strategy. You know, _trying to blow me up_. Explosions don't immediately scream "don't worry, we're trying to help!" do they?"

Holly rounded on her. "You are so unbelievably ungrateful! We came back for you! You would probably be dead if not for us!"

"Honestly? I think your _rescue_ attempt might have actually been more dangerous than what you were supposedly rescuing me from. Although I doubt that was by accident."

Holly opened her mouth to respond, but Butler got there first.

"Enough," he said in his gravelly tones. "We had ample chance to finish you off. We didn't. Nothing forced us to come back for you at all. Nothing forced us to protect you from the surviving formers after collapsing the street above. Nothing forced me personally to stop you from rolling into the abyss when you first fell, or to then carry you back to safety. And yet we did all of those things. And you are alive."

Natalya turned to him, digesting his words. He was certainly right about one thing: she _was_ alive. And that in and of itself pretty much amounted to a miracle. Artemis and the others probably didn't realise the full extent of the danger she had been in: the formers had beaten her, and she couldn't imagine how she would have survived without Artemis's intervention.

And if Butler was telling the truth – and there was no lie in his face – then he personally had saved her. She didn't know why. He didn't owe her anything, that much was for sure. She had left him and his sister to die. It was in part because of her that he had believed his charge to be dead. She wondered briefly how Butler would react when Holly Short finally played her hand.

Not that it mattered at the moment. The facts of the matter were that she was alive, in no state to make a fight out of it, and Opal was on her way. For now, at least, she supposed she could forgive Artemis. They had bigger concerns.

"Very well, Fowl," Natalya said at last. "I will be your ace. What do you need me to do?"

"That depends. Can you give me a more exact time for Opal's arrival?"

Natalya closed her eyes, recalling the vision and testing it against what she remembered of the shuttle trip to Shangri-La.

"When I saw her, she was flying through the Himalayas. Fast. And she wasn't far from the entrance to the cave. She's probably already inside. So I would say she'll be here in as long it takes her to walk from there to here."

Artemis cocked his head slightly, thinking over what Natalya had said. "The cave is our only way out – if Opal is already inside then we are trapped down here. One way or another, we will have to defeat both her and the parasite itself down here."

"I don't like the sound of fighting two enemies at once," said Butler. He glanced at Natalya. "How many creatures did she have with her?"

"I don't know. Enough. We won't be able to fight them and her. Especially with me in this state. No offense."

Artemis nodded. He wouldn't admit it, particularly while Holly was in earshot, but of the four of them, Natalya had shown herself to be easily the most capable of dealing with the Fallen. And she barely looked like she could walk at the moment, let alone fight. Artemis didn't fancy their chances against another army of formers.

"Very well," he said. "At least we have some time on our side – it took us more than an hour to make it down here, I doubt Opal will be much faster. We will be able to prepare."

Holly grinned. The bag of powerful fairy explosives she had clipped onto her moonbelt was still almost full. She patted it fondly. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Artemis returned the smile, but shook his head. "Not precisely. We cannot risk harming Opal without risking the entire timeline."

Holly looked disappointed. "But you do have a plan, right?"

Artemis nodded. "The beginnings of one, at least. But I need to see the hive mind first. We need to get to the temple."

Artemis was the first to set off, Butler and Holly immediately by his side. Holly spared a moment to glance back at Natalya. The Russian girl hadn't moved.

"Can you walk?"

Natalya looked up. She shrugged. "I guess I'll have to."

"Yes. You will."

* * *

It seemed that between the four of them, Artemis, Holly, Butler and Natalya had largely managed to clear Shangri-La of hostiles, and they experienced only minor resistance as they made their way to the temple. A few former fairies were still milling around the temple entrance when they arrived, but Butler and Holly easily dispatched them, staining the ancient cobbles with black blood and depositing the bodies on the ground outside the temple.

It only took Artemis and Natalya, who was already starting to recover from her injuries thanks to her magic, a moment to join them. In front of them, a relatively short stone staircase, broken in places, led up into the mouth of the temple. A stone dragon stood on each side of the staircase, guarding the way, a flickering orange torch in each of their mouths. No one bothered asking how they were still burning after all these years.

The four of them looked up. The temple entrance was ornate, painstakingly carved out of the edge of the gigantic cavern, and it towered over the nearby dwellings. While the rest of Shangri-La was dead and barren, unnatural looking plants twisted and stretched all over the temple, apparently unaffected by the lack of light and water.

Artemis made to step forward, but found Butler blocking his way.

"No, Artemis. I think it would be best if I led the way."

Artemis didn't bother arguing. He followed Butler up the steps, Holly by his side, Natalya bringing up the rear. When they reached the top, the temple entrance loomed ahead of them, pitch black and impossibly sinister. Flames flared up in Natalya's hand, casting a flickering glow into the darkness. Artemis could just make out a ruined entrance hall, with passages leading off in what looked like every direction.

Holly, seriously regretting the loss of her helmet with its powerful torch beams, was the first across the threshold. Expecting something to jump out at her at any moment, she looked around. Above her, ancient carvings snaked their way across the high ceiling. Cracked pillars, most of them being clung to by strange climbing plants, lined the hall. She took another step forward and stepped in something. Crouching down, she gave the floor an experimental touch. It was wet.

"Well," she reported. "Nothing has tried to kill me yet. I guess that's something."

The others joined her. Every one of Natalya's movements cast light into some new crack or corner, exposing more unnatural plants and what looked uncomfortably like once hidden passages.

"Artemis," said Butler quietly. "I don't trust the plants. Thoughts?"

Artemis took a slightly closer look. Butler's statement sounded ridiculous out of context, but everyone there understood exactly what he meant.

"I'm inclined to agree," murmured Artemis. "Nothing should be able to live down here. And if I'm right, which I usually am, this place is saturated with dark magic. I wouldn't recommend getting too close."

"So," asked Holly, gesturing around at the multitude of possible corridors. "Which way?"

"Down." Artemis knew instinctively that it was the right answer. "We need to go as far down as we can."

They chose the first staircase leading down they could find, and set off. Once they reached the bottom, the picked another downward path and followed that. After that it was a wide, sloped passageway that stretched on and on. They passed what looked like a minecart, an underground waterfall, and all sorts of partially blocked off cave systems.

Butler was the first to reach the end of the passage. He stepped out into what was half natural cave, half fairy-built chamber. Two great wooden turbines dominated the space, casting massive flickering shadows as they stood in the way of Natalya's flame. Tools and rubble were strewn everywhere. It looked like construction had never finished.

"Artemis?" he asked. "Where now?"

The boy joined his bodyguard and glanced around. Water dripped through cracks in the ceiling, but he couldn't see anything alive, not down here. He took another step forward, took a closer look at their surroundings. Pools of darkness that might have been more caves peered back at him from the shadows. He didn't fancy those options.

"Maybe we should go back up?" offered Holly.

Artemis shook his head. "We're burning time that we don't have. Opal won't wait around forever."

Natalya passed Artemis, her flames casting their eerie glow deeper into chamber. She pointed. A narrow shaft directly opposite the two turbines was just about visible cut into the rock.

Artemis nodded, and the four of them made their way over. As he walked between the turbines, he realised he had stepped onto metal instead of stone, and looked down. He was walking on a massive metal grate. Water rushed below. Maybe it had once been supposed to power the turbines. He shook his head. This entire place made less sense every minute.

The passage Natalya had spotted turned out to be so narrow that they had to walk in single file. Butler tried to insist on going first, but when Holly pointed out that if it further narrowed they would all be stuck behind him, he agreed to let the elf take point and bring up the rear instead. Which left Artemis stuck in the middle with Natalya.

Artemis kept a hand on the wall beside him at all times, helping him keep his balance. After a minute or so, the rough stone under his hand gave way to wooden boards. They felt rotten.

Natalya poked him from behind. "This is ridiculous. I'm the only one with light. I should be in the lead. Can Short even see anything?"

"Be quiet," hissed the elf from the shadows ahead.

"Well, can you?"

"Not really," Holly admitted. "But I wouldn't worry ab-"

"Wait." Something in Natalya's tone made Holly pause. An urgency. "I hear something. Movement."

Mottled hands punched through the wood lining the passage and grabbed Holly. The elf shouted something incomprehensible and disappeared into the shadows.

Artemis screamed her name and was moving after her before conscious thought had time to set in, ducking into the opening she had disappeared into. Behind him Natalya was already shouting for him to come back, but then came the sounds of a commotion and her flickering flame, the only light they had, went out.

Darkness was immediate and absolute.

The way forward was black. He spun. The darkness behind him was equally impenetrable. He tried to turn back in the direction he had last seen Holly and realised that he had completely lost his sense of direction. A way away he could vaguely make out the sound of people fighting.

"Holly?"

Nothing.

Artemis took a few tentative steps in an unknown direction, hands out in front like a zombie to stop himself bumping into anything. Serious fear was already starting to set in.

"Holly?"

A sound behind him. He turned, hoping to hear Holly's voice. Instead, a pair of glowing yellow eyes blazed in the darkness.

Artemis did the only thing he could think of. He ran. He managed about five paces before slamming into something cold and very hard. Pain registered immediately. Dazed, he staggered back, still completely unable to see.

Steps in his direction.

Artemis lashed out blindly and caught the former with his fist, but the blow was weak and had little effect. Invisible hands grabbed him and hurled him to the ground. All his pre-existing pains intensified, and were joined by a few extras. Not pleasant.

Groaning, Artemis tried to pull himself to his feet, but his muscles didn't seem to be in a listening mood. Footsteps approached, but it was impossible to tell how close the former was without raising his head to see its eyes.

Out of nowhere, something struck him in the chest. Crying out, he tried to curl up into a ball, but the former was rolling him over and straddling him, pinning him down. The stench of rotten flesh was overwhelming. Claws raked his skin, drawing blood. Artemis struggled helplessly, too weak to throw the creature off him, those two yellow eyes staring down at him, boring deep into his soul, unblinking, ever sinister.

 _Those two eyes._

Artemis reached up with both hands, easily finding the creature's head in the darkness. He placed a thumb over each glowing eye and squeezed, snuffing them out once and for all. It was like crushing jelly. An unknown liquid dribbled down his fingers.

The former let out a cry of such and pain rage that Artemis could almost feel the ground beneath him shake. It thrashed about, still shrieking, easily dislodging Artemis's grip. The boy made to put some distance between the two of them, but the creature managed to grab hold of him before he could find his feet.

Artemis kicked and twisted but the former didn't let go. Then he felt something pierce the skin on his shoulder. Lots of somethings. Very painful, jagged somethings.

 _Teeth,_ he realised in horror. The former had sunk its teeth into his flesh. He tried breaking free again but only succeeded in sending the creature's teeth deeper into his skin. He screamed. The former bit down harder and he screamed again.

A thought wormed its way into his head, past the pain and the fear.

 _Two can play that game._

Artemis leaned forward, found what was probably the former's neck and bit down with all the strength his jaw could muster. Rotten skin gave way and black blood filled his mouth. The taste was impossibly foul but survival instincts somehow fought past the urge to gag. The former relinquished its own bite and struggled madly but Artemis held on, knowing that if we let go he was dead.

Ignoring the former's screams, Artemis bit down even harder and moved his head side to side and eventually the chunk of flesh came away. Fresh blood splattered over both of them. But Artemis wasn't done. Before the creature could twist away into the darkness, he reached out and grabbed the fresh would in its neck. He reached in and tore. Dead flesh, barely held together by magic and spite, came apart. An even more putrid smell filled his nostrils, and the creature stopped struggling.

The first thing Artemis did once the creature was dead with was spit out the chunk of rotten flesh that was still in his mouth. The second thing he did was throw up. It was also the third.

Exhausted, he slumped back, his mind struggling to cling onto consciousness. Then he threw up again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ugh. You can kind of taste it, can't you? Not exactly pleasant to think about.

Anyway, so Natalya did end up surviving. Sorry to those of you who wanted her dead, but she still has a role to play in this story. And let's be honest, she's just too much fun to kill off yet ;)

The next two chapters are pretty much _the_ climax of the story, and with the exception of one detail I'm not sure how I feel about, I'm really pleased with how they've turned out. In Chapter 26 I'm particularly proud of the pacing and suspense. I'm really looking forward to getting those edited to I can share them with you guys, so hopefully the next update won't take so long.

I'm going to mention reviews now (surprising, I know), but for once, there's actually something I really want feedback on. How do you guys feel about Holly's vendetta against Natalya? I'm mainly referring to Holly saying she wants to/plans to kill her. I know Holly holds grudges, but in canon, she isn't vengeful, making this out of character. Do you find it convincing in spite of that, or does it feel like an inappropriate departure from her canon characterisation? I really want to know what you think for future fics.

I'd also love some feedback on the somewhat surreal first half of the chapter (Natalya's stream of consciousness while she's out cold). Was it interesting and mysterious or just confusing? And what do you think those scenes were trying to say about Natalya? Please let me know!

-Kio


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